Tell Me These Words Are A Lie
by BunniiBee
Summary: Pruu has always been a quiet girl. She never shows how she feels. When she makes a wish to be able to be herself, she's scared to find a weird egg! Now a cat boy from her school has come to her side. How will this play out?  Better than it sounds.Promise
1. I'm alright

Pruu was a quiet girl. She never really talked to anyone, and it was very hard for her to make a friend. Because of her parents' jobs, she had to go to a private school. A special private school.

The school she attended mainly consisted of the children of Easter employees. Of course, there were regular kids there, but it was mainly a private school for the children of Easter employees.

Pruu was also a sickly child. She easily became ill and as a result, missed a lot of school. Adding her constant absences with her quiet disposition, she was an easy target for teasing. She was always teased for being different and not fitting in. Most of the girls did their best to try and resemble Utau Hoshina, the teen idol that went to their school. Although she admired Utau greatly, Pruu was content with her short blue green hair and light blue eyes. She was okay with the teasing though. They were just words.

"Hey, TachiBAKA," one of the girls called with a sneer. "Wanna eat lunch with us, today?"

Pruu was smarter than that. This was high school, not junior high. She faked a small smile and shook her head. "No thank you."

Another girl scowled. "What's with the smile, TachiBAKA? Think you're too good for us, is that it? You think you're too hott to be seen with us?"

This time, she looked to the floor. "No. It's polite to smile when you're being spoken to." They were just words. Words could never hurt her.

Not that she'd let them know.

The first girl that addressed her scoffed. "Sooner or later, someone's gonna knock that 'polite smile' off your face."

Nodding politely, Pruu just turned and left. No point in staying in a classroom and getting picked on. She smiled to herself at the thought of being alone and being able to eat her bento in peace. Maybe the roof would be a nice quiet place?

She reached the roof door and sighed in relief. Peace at last. She opened the door and went through the door. She suddenly stopped when she saw a boy laying down on the roof. Her first thought was that he was sleeping, so she decided to quietly sneak back the way she came. Her plan was going well until….

"What do you want?" it was the boy who spoke. His voice was very smooth, very nice. She almost forgot to answer.

"Nothing." She looked to the floor nervously. "I thought the roof was going to be empty. I'm leaving now, since you were here first though. Sorry for disturbing you…" The boy had short blue hair from what she could see. A rich indigo color, she admitted to herself.

"I don't care if you're here or not. As long as you're not noisy. So, you can stay here as long as you want."

"Oh….Alright….Thank you…." She quietly sat down and started to eat her bento quietly. Onigiri was the only thing she knew how to make, that was what she was eating. Plain, just like her. Once she was finished, she looked up to stare at the sky. Blue with clouds…. So boring. Why was everything in her life so boring? Everything was always going according to the daily schedule. School, teasing, lunch, home, dinner, homework, sleep. Why couldn't she at least have something out of the ordinary happen?

Then, she spotted a weirdly shaped cloud. It looked like a star.

A wishing star in the light of day, she though to herself. She held her hands together discreetly and closed her eyes.

I wish something exciting would happen to me, she wished. A life changing thing that will make me the person I want to be.

One second.

Two seconds.

Three seconds.

Four seconds.

Five seconds.

Nothing.

Pruu mentally scolded herself for her foolishness. She didn't even wish on a star! It was only a cloud that looked like a star! She mentally sighed anyway.

I still wish for an opportunity to find out who I'm supposed to be. She continued her dreamy cloud watching in silence.

The indigo haired boy on the roof with her looked at her out of the corner of his violet eyes. Soft voice and extremely quiet. Not very often did he those kind around. Mostly look a likes of his little sister. It was a nice relief in his time of resting.

The bell chimed and Pruu stood up slowly. She turned to the indigo haired boy shyly. "Thank you again for letting me stay here. I greatly appreciate it." He seemed approachable, but was actually kind.

He waved it off casually. "It's nothing." He paused momentarily. "What's your name?"

That question shocked her. Why would he care? Deciding it wouldn't do any harm, she looked to him. "Pruu Tachibana." The indigo haired boy was actually very cute. Handsome even.

"Hm. Ikuto." He stood up and walked to the roof door. "See ya later, Pruu." The way he stretched her name made her blush slightly. Then, he was gone.

"What an odd boy…" she murmured quietly. She picked up her school bag and exited the roof as well. She had P.E. next. One of her most hated classes because she wasn't allowed to do much due to her sickly nature. All she could do was either walk laps or sit there, watching everyone else.

Today was one of the days she had to sit and do nothing. She didn't even bother to change into her P.E. uniform because she saw no point. Everyone else was playing basketball. She just watched the clouds like she did at lunch.

Ikuto, what an odd boy, she thought. He was nice though. Maybe if she went to the roof tomorrow at lunch, he might be there again? She secretly hoped so. He was really handsome too. She looked down to hide the blush behind her bangs.

"A guy like that couldn't possibly even take much notice of me. He was just being polite," she quietly whispered to herself. Once her blush was gone, she looked back up to the clouds. She couldn't see any more clouds shaped like stars and she silently wished she could. She wanted to make another wish.

I wish I could see Ikuto again. I don't even have to talk to him. I'd just be happy to just sit around him like at lunch. That was very pleasant, she thought.

School was finally ended and she was walking to the school gate when the first girl from the morning stopped her. She was with her posse as usual.

"What are you up to, TachiBAKA?" she teased.

"Nothing," she replied softly. "Just walking home."

The girl flipped her bleached blonde hair tauntingly. "Can I tell you a secret, TachiBAKA?"

Knowing this was the fastest way to get her to leave her alone, she answered. "What, Hio-san?"

She stepped closer to Pruu and whispered snidely in her ear. "You're an ugly freak, you know?"

Pruu just ignored the words that hurt a little piece inside her. "is that all? I should be getting home now." She tried to walk past Hio, but she was tripped.

"Oh, my. You should be more careful, TachiBAKA. You're going to make people think you're as clumsy as you are stupid, and ugly." She laughed and the other girls did too.

Pruu just stood up, brushed her uniform off, and walked out of the school gates. She kept walking, weaving through the crowd and trying to get away from the school. She let her bangs overshadow her face, just so no one could see she was holding back her feelings. She tried her best to stay the quiet, indifferent girl she always was, but she just couldn't stand being picked on anymore. Giving them the reactions they wanted was bad, but holding it all in was worse. She couldn't do anything because it wasn't in her character.

While walking down the street, she passed by an alley and decided to just stay hidden there while she calmed herself down and let her outer character gain its control again. Once, in the alley, she sat down in the shadows and just stared at the ground.

"I'm not a freak," she whispered to herself. "I'm not ugly or stupid….. I'm not…" She let tears escape her light blue eyes as she tried not to sob. She couldn't get sick. She hated it. Being alone in a home where there was only emptiness. She couldn't bother her parents while they were at work. Easter was an important corporation and she wanted them to be able to keep their focus where it was needed. More tears slipped out as she surrendered to weakness.

She wished secretly that she could see them more often. Or at least that she could make a friend and not be so terribly lonely. She hated being alone… but she always was.

She rubbed her eyes and tried to calm down. Being alone wasn't so bad. No one hurt you easily because there was no one to hurt you. Crying was silly. Nothing could be accomplished with tears. She was just making herself sick by crying.

"Stop all this blubbering and whining, Pruu. People have it worse than you. You have a loving mom and dad, good grades, and a future. Get up and tough it out." she patted her cheeks encouragingly and stood. She wiped her face of all evidence of tears, grabbed her school bag, and left the alley and walked home.

If only she noticed the cat eared boy nearby that heard her every word.

Bunnii: I hope you enjoyed this first chapter. Pruu's character WILL be more developed and show more. She's an optimist and doesn't like being sad. She isn't a Mary-Sue, believe me. She's not all powerful or super pathetic. Please comment with your thoughts.


	2. What's a Chara?

Pruu was awoken by the blaring of her alarm clock. She's gone to sleep quite early the previous night and was feeling refreshed from her mood the day before. When she sat up in bed, she felt something brush against the side of her leg. Something warm and smooth.

"Eh?" She lifted up the blanket and held back a shocked yell.

There was an EGG in her bed!

Cautiously, she picked it up and examined it. It was fairly large. Well over the size of a chicken egg. But, it wasn't just a plain white egg. It was black with rainbow music notes and white 'X's. Such a weird looking thing.

"Is this a prank?" She asked, pressing the egg to her cheek. Suddenly, she felt a pulse come from it, almost like a heartbeat. Surprised, she shrieked and fell off her bed, the egg rolling across the floor.

"Pruu-chan? You alright?" She heard her father's concerned voice call. She guessed he was already leaving for work.

"Y-Yeah, Daddy! I'm fine! Just fell out of bed! I'm fine!" She quickly stood up and picked up the mysterious egg. "Is it broken?" No. She held the warm egg to her chest protectively.

"I'm leaving now, Pruu-chan. I love you." She heard her dad call.

"I love you too, Daddy!" she called back. He was such a good father. He always looked out for her. She turned her attention back to the little egg with her. "I don't know what you are or where you came from, but I'm going to find out. I'll hatch you and find out for sure." She took made space in her bag and put the egg inside a cushioned little box that she fit into her bag. "That should keep you safe." She got dressed, put on her makeup, and quickly finished getting ready for school. She carefully grabbed her bag and brought it outside with her and locked the house.

"C'mon, little egg," she said to her back warmly. "Time for school." She started walking to school with the bag at her side.

She reached the school easily and walked into her first period. She hurried to her seat and tried not to be noticed. That was obviously too much to ask for.

"TachiBAKA," Hio sneered. "What's wrong? Too cool to greet your classmates?"

_Pruu-chan….._

Pruu just kept looking at her desk. "Hio-san, could you just stop?" The words shocked even her. She never spoke out like that.

Hio looked disgusted with the girl in front of her. "What did you say?"

Murmurs started around the classroom.

"What a snob."

"She always acts better than everyone. What's her deal?"

"She's seriously such a freak."

Embarrassed, Pruu quickly stood up. "Excuse me." She grabbed her bag and left the room.

"What did I just do?" She asked herself. "That was totally out of character! What came over me?" She hid in the restroom.

"Dammit. Dammit. Dammit!" She hit the bathroom stall. "What did I do?" She hit it again and again, then covered her mouth. "I can't believe I did that… I'm such a baka…" She went inside one of the stalls and just stayed there. She couldn't bare it if she went back out there so soon.

"_Pruu-chan…" _a voice called. Pruu looked up and around.

"Hello?" The voice was coming from her bag? She opened the bag and saw a light shining coming from the egg she had put in her bag before.

Suddenly, the egg cracked! The top popped off and a little person came from the egg!

"Nyeh, Pruu-chan! I'm so happy to finally meet you!"

Pruu gave out a startled shriek as she backed away from the tiny person. "Wh-Who are you?"

She smiled and twirled around a little. "I'm Airi! Your chara! I'm your would-be-self. You wished for me, remember?" She twirled again. Airi had long black hair in two ponytails with two white 'X's holding them up and vibrant orange eyes. She was wearing a purple turtleneck with a black dress over with white 'X's. She wore little black shoes and had a little mouth mike (Sort of like Miku Hatsune's).

"My would-be-self? And who would that be?" Pruu asked skeptically. The whole thing was just too freaky.

Airi just smiled. "The you that you hide all the time, silly! That's why I'm here! I'm going to help you accomplish your dream!"

Pruu stared at the ground emotionlessly. Dream…

"I can't," she said finally. "I already know what I'm going to do when I get out of school. I'm going to a university and then getting a job like my parents. Simple as that. There's nothing about a dream in there."

Airi looked disappointed. "I know you have a dream, Pruu-chan. That's why I'm here. You have the potential, but you just need a little push. I'm here for you. So you're not lonely anymore….."

Pruu looked up to the little person, shocked. She knew she didn't want to be alone….. Smiling, she gently cupped the chara in her hands and held her to her cheek. "I don't think I can do it, but, if you're here, maybe I can be my true self." She gently patted the head of her new friend.

"Oh! Pruu-chan! Go to class!" Airi demanded, her voice like a little bell.

Pruu gave a little smile. "I'm going to go sleep in the nurse's office. The Bell's gonna ring anyway. I'll go to class later. I'm tired." She picked up her bag and walked out of the bathroom, Airi floating after her.

"By the way, Pruu-chan. No one else but people with charas of their own can see me, so don't talk to me in public or else you'll look craaaazy," she giggled.

"Got it, no looking crazy," she confirmed.

The third period bell rang and the nurse awoke the sleeping Pruu. He condition was an easy excuse to sleep in school- not that she did it often.

"Pruu-san, you should probably eat something. It might help with the fatigue. Do you have a bento?"

Pruu nodded drowsily and grabbed her bag. "I'll go eat. I'm feeling slightly better, thank you." She left the nurse's office and was making her way to the stairs to the roof. Maybe Ikuto was there?

"Do you like the roof best, Pruu-chan?" Airi asked.

"Mhm. It's quiet." She blushed lightly at the thought of also maybe seeing Ikuto again.

When she reached the roof, she was excited to see Ikuto was there as well. He was lying on his back like yesterday and munching absently on a fish cracker. Quiet like before, she sat down and started eating her bento.

"Nyah! Nyah! Ikuto! She has one too, nyah!" came a chibi voice. Pruu turned to see a mini version of Ikuto!

"Eh? A chara too?" she pointed out softly.

Ikuto looked over and looked straight at Airi. "I see….." He seemed to think a little bit. "You didn't have one yesterday."

Airi beamed and struck a pose. "I just hatched!" Pruu looked to the mini Ikuto. "I didn't see you yesterday…"

"Only people with charas can see me, nyah!" The mini Ikuto twirled around with a catty smile and floated over to her excitedly. "Pruu-chan, nyah!"

Pruu looked to Ikuto nervously, afraid he would be upset at her for seeing his chara so casually. When he just looked at her indifferently, she turned and cautiously pet the mini version of Ikuto. "You want to be a cat, Tsukiyomi-san?"

Ikuto looked at her oddly. "What?"

Worried she said something stupid, Pruu blushed and turned away. "I-I mean, because Airi said charas were basically your true self… I guess the way I worded it was stupid…" She blushed more and inwardly cursed herself.

"Not exactly," was his vague reply. He didn't even bother to look at her chara. Probably something like that other girl… Hinamori's charas. So childish. Lazily, he closed his eyes and started to bathe in the sun.

Pruu opened her mouth to speak, but decided against it. He liked peace, not some weird girl talking to him about odd things. She contented herself with gently scratching behind the mini Ikuto's cat ears. He sighed with delight and let out a happy mewl.

"What's your name?" she quietly asked. Where did these cute things come from?

"Yoru!" he mewled happily. He leaned into her touch and let out another happy meow. His tail swished side to side and a big smile was plastered on his face.

Pruu's light blue eyes looked from the content cat to the lazy Ikuto and she was overcome by curiosity. She whispered softly to the chara, "Yoru-san? If you scratched Tsukiyomi-san behind the ears, would he be like this too?" She inwardly admitted it would be a cute thing to see.

Yoru looked up at her with a smirk. "I dunno. Let's try it out, nyah!"

Pruu blushed and looked away. "N-No thank you… It's not in my character to do something like that…."

Ikuto looked at her from the corner of his eye when he heard her say those words. Not in her character to do what? Feeling bored and in need of amusement, he sat up and looked to her.

"Pruu, come over here."

Pruu blushed. He used her name so informally…. But, being the obedient type, she quietly walked over to him and sat down. "Yes?"

He looked at her with a breathtaking smirk. "What exactly isn't in your character?"

Her blush deepened and she avoided his gaze. "I'm quiet and diligent… That's m-my character…." His voice was so smooth compared her quiet and soft voice.

"But that's not Pruu-chan's true self!" Airi objected. "Watch! Character Change!"

With a little 'pop' noise, a mouthset (again, like Miku Hatsune) appeared on the timid blunette and she looked at Ikuto with a dazzling smile. "Nyeh, what do you think, Ikuto-kun?"

He didn't know if it was the smile, the tone of her voice when she said 'Ikuto-kun', or the way the sunlight hit her just right, but whatever it was, it had two deep blue cat ears pop out on Ikuto's head.

With an even brighter smile, she reached up boldly and gently scratched right behind his cat ears. "Ikuto-kun is so cute, nyeh?"

Again, he didn't know if it was the smile, the tone, or the way her gentle fingers scratched him, but he felt blood rush to his cheeks uncharacteristically. He was the type of person to CAUSE those reactions, not have them. Either way, a small part of him deep inside relished the feeling of being pet affectionately.

"This is the TRUE Pruu-chan!" Airi beamed brightly at the affectionate blunette she came from.

With another loud 'pop', the mouthset disappeared and Pruu's outside character returned. She was on her hands and knees, one hand outstretched and stroking Ikuto's cat ears, and her face was so close to his, she could feel his breath on her face.

Instantly, she pulled back and let blood rush to her cheeks. "I-I am so sorry, Tsukiyomi-san! That- That was completely out of character! I…I…" She lost her ability to speak rapidly.

The cat boy merely smirked in reply. "What happened to 'Ikuto-kun'?" he teased.

A lump formed in her throat from the embarrassment and she felt her face burn up more. "I…. I have to go! Goodbye!" She stood and rushed to get out of Ikuto's sight and off the roof.

As soon as she was out of sight, the bell conveniently rang, making Ikuto smirk at the good timing.

"That was interesting," he said to his mini companion.

"She's funny, nyah!"

Pruu was trying to stay calm as she dressed in her PE uniform. Anything to distract herself from what had happened on the roof. She was wearing her PE sweat pants and the zip up jacket. She absent mindedly put her uniform in her bag instead of her locker as she went to go sit at her normal spot at the PE area.

"I'm sorry, Pruu-chan," Airi apologized for the thousandth time. "I didn't know you'd be so embarrassed."

"Just don't do that again without telling me," she whispered back, not wanting to be heard. "That was the most embarrassing thing I've ever done in my life."

Airi nodded and looked around the PE area with her curious orange eyes. "What game are we playing today?" she asked.

Pruu sat down by the gate like usual and looked at the ground. "We're not playing anything, Airi. I'll get sick."

"Can't we take a vitamin and play a little?" the ebony haired chara suggested pleadingly.

"It doesn't work that way. If I do things like playing sports and work my body like that for too long, I'll get sick. Mom and Dad just prefer if I was dismissed altogether from the class, but it's required, so I walk laps once a week for credit."

Airi looked displeased, but didn't pursue the topic.

"Can we play a game when we get home?" she quietly asked. "Like maybe cards of video games?"

Pruu found a little smile forming at the innocent request. "How about we watch a funny movie together?"

Airi smiled brightly. "And we can listen to music and talk?" She seemed very excited about the whole thing.

"Yeah. We can listen to music and talk." She felt like she was taking care of a little kid. Playing games, talking and other simple things. It was so childish, yet made Pruu a little giddy on the inside. She hadn't had any kind of fun in a while.

"Woops!" Something wet splashed all over Pruu suddenly, giving her heart a jolt. She looked up suddenly to see Hio holding a medium sized bucket, with a sneer on her face.

"Sorry, TachiBAKA. Didn't see you there when I tripped. It's pretty hard to see losers like you all over the place." The laughter from her posse encouraged her. "You made me spill all this water. You know what? That means you should go and refill the bucket of me." She dropped it next to Pruu with an amused laugh.

That was it. Invisible to the regular eye, a mouthset appeared with a 'pop' and Pruu stood up quickly.

"Leave me alone!" she yelled, startling the group of girls and drawing the attention of other.

"Hio, you're a horribly wicked person and I'm tired of this horrible treatment! I hate the way you treat me when I did NOTHING to you! Leave me alone, you stupid, stingy, conceited little brat!" She was panting heavily from the sudden outburst and her throat was hurting from yelling.

Hio and her group stood there in shock as people slowly gathered around the opposing forces.

"What did Hio do?"

"What made Tachibana explode like that?"

"That's pretty scary…"

Hio tried to regain her bearings when she heard the teacher's whistle. "Well, well, you're just an ugly little freak with no friends! No one likes you!"

Airi's soft voice was heard, worry laced in the words. "Pruu-chan, you're not a violent person. Don't let her get the best of you."

She was briefly ignored. Footsteps of nearby teachers were heard coming towards them to break up the potential fight.

"Well, you know what, Hio? I don't-" She suddenly cut off when she slightly choked and started to cough. The coughing got worse until she was in the middle of a fit of coughs. Students moved away to make way for the teachers who were trying to get through.

"Hio-san, Tachibana-san, what happened?" One of the teachers was rubbing Pruu's back to sooth the coughs.

Tears stung her eyes at the pain the coughing brought her throat. She barely had time to breathe between coughs and her head was throbbing with need for oxygen. Dizziness was brought on my a light headed feeling and she felt the floor crumble beneath her as she faded into black. Only one voice reached her ears before everything went dark.

Airi…..

Bunnii: Sorry this isn't an amazing chapter, but it leads up to a good one next. And let me clarify Pruu's condition. It's not anything like cancer, it's more of a bronchial/ immunity deficiency thing. My brother has it. If one has this and stresses their throat out (crying, yelling, screaming, singing loudly, ect.), it can cause horrible coughing fits, illness, and fainting. Please no flames… Reviews are appreciated and thank you to darkangel42264 (got the name correct?) fro pointing out a slight flaw I'll fix soon. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I tried to make it long because I have school and people enjoy this one. Update on ANIMA coming very soon. Thank you


	3. Sickness and Irritation

Bunnii: Could someone tell me why life suck/ Although I'm happy to update for you guys, I'm sick ON SENIOR DITCH DAY! That's so not fair! Anyway, here's the new chappie I promised my little lovelies 3. Thank you to the people who added me and my story to your favorites or your watch list. It makes me so happy ^^

Hearing was the first thing to come back before thought and vision. Voices were muffled and there was a steady beeping noise. The voices became clearer.

"Will she be alright?"

"She'll be fine. It was a minor occurrence and she should be perfectly fine in a few days. She needs some rest. It was probably all the coughing. She couldn't get enough air in enough time. She's alright."

Control over Pruu's body came next. She opened her eyes and looked around. She recognized the room she was in. A hospital. She sat up and looked to the door. It was her mom and dad. They were talking to the doctor and didn't notice her.

"Daddy…" she quietly murmured, hoping to catch his attention.

Amazingly, he turned to her immediately. "Pruu-chan!" he went to her side and hugged her gently. "We were worried. Are you alright? Your school called and said you passed out at school. What happened?"

Pruu just smiled lightly at him. "I'm okay, Daddy. I just overdid myself in PE. Some of the girl tried to help and I passed out. It won't happen again, I promise." She looked at him softly with blue eyes.

The man before he just smiled back and nodded. She was a good girl, she had no reason to lie to him ever. "No more PE, alright? Just listen to your sensei and be a good girl."

The doctor spoke a little to her mother and left the room, leaving her to stand in the doorway.

"Pruu-chan," she called quietly, catching the attention of her husband and daughter. "We've told you over a million times you can't push yourself, so why do you still do it? You get sick and then you put a strain on your studies."

"Mitoko," her husband soothed, "It's not really her fault. It's hard being a young girl who can't strain herself. It's normal fro someone to want to try their best a lot. She promised she wouldn't do it again." Her father always took Pruu's side in these situations, which weren't too rare.

Her mother sighed and rubbed her temples. "It's not like we won't love you if you get sick or if you're not a physical person. You need to take care of yourself since your father and I are always working."

Pruu looked down at her hands quietly. "Yes, Mom. I know." She knew it was for the best. Her mother just wasn't as soft as her father. Those stupid girls and their teasing.

Her mother walked over and put a hand on her daughter's shoulder. "Do you want to go home now?"

"Yeah." Hospitals were not her favorite place.

Her mother squeezed her shoulder comfortingly. "Want Daddy to go by the store and get you some ice cream or something?"

With a small smile, she nodded. "Yeah. That sounds good."

Her father was the one to look between both females. "Huh? Why is it Daddy's job?" He wanted to take his little girl home and spoil her rotten, not go to the store!

Her mother just smiled, helped Pruu out of bed, and handed her clothes and she walked into the bathroom. "Because Mom did all the work bringing her into the world, so Daddy has to do the rest." She smiled victoriously as her husband sighed and walked out of the room to check out his daughter and go to the store.

Pruu smiled as she sat on the couch in her living room and ate ice cream with Air by her side. "Today wasn't so bad. Other than the fainting and being bullied, I got ice cream and no school for a whole day." She smiled at Airi. "I would have never had the guts to stand up to those girls without you."

Airi smiled a small smile in return. "You scared me though. I didn't know that would happen. You should be careful when yelling like that."

Pruu turned her eyes to the television and the movie it was displaying. "It was still nice. I used to hate those girls, and now I feel better having let the know what I think. I don't think that will make us friends, but maybe they'll go away." She ate another spoonful.

Her mom and dad went back to work after being assured their daughter would be alright. She felt bad for the worried expression on her dad's face, but knew he'd suck it up.

"Although…" Blue eyes turned hopeful and distant. "I do wish I was able to see Tsukiyomi-san tomorrow. Maybe I can find out more about having a Chara from him." He face flushed lightly and she ate another spoonful of her icy treat. "Bu-But I don't mean anything by it!" She tried to ignore Airi's suggestive glance.

I want to see him again…. She thought.

Ikuto sat at a bench during break the next day. He hadn't seen the familiar girl anywhere in the school and Yoru hadn't caught even a single scent to go by. Why was she not at school? Was she late? The entire situation just irked him.

"Yo, Ikuto," one of his friends called with a cheery smile. "What's with the sulking?"

"Tsh, what sulking?" Was his reply. He wasn't sulking.

He just laughed at Ikuto. "You just seem so out of it, buddy. Maybe, you're thinking about a hot girl?" he said suggestively.

The blue haired teen scoffed. "Hardly. I'm not sulking, or thinking about anyone." He rolled his eyes at his friend's accusations. What a weird friend.

"Then can I have her number?"

"There is no girl. Get over it." He turned his attention back to the crowd of students. He was glad to have been momentarily distracted by his friend. He'd see her at lunch on the roof.

"You gonna ditch us again at lunch?" another friend asked teasingly. "If I didn't know better, I'd think you were hiding some cute girl from us and keeping her all to yourself." He faked a pout. "Such a stingy Ikuto."

"Why are you so stupid?" he asked the boy sitting next to him. Of course he didn't mean it. He was just being annoying. Cute girl? No way. "I'm going to go sleep on the roof again. See you guys after school." Grabbing his violin case, he waved his friends off and walked over to get to the roof entrance. His small chara floated next to him.

"I think Pruu-chan is cute, Ikuto. Maybe she'll come play today too, nyah!" he chimed happily.

Ikuto stayed silent as he sat on the roof lazily.

An indigo haired cat boy sat on the roof, tail lashing from side to side with irritation. Lunch had been going on for almost ten minutes. Where was that odd girl? Scoffing, he laid back down. Not like he cared. He enjoyed being alone, with just the playful Yoru at his side. Utau was on tour and he finally had some time to himself. His brows furrowed in irritation.

"Where is that weird girl?" he asked himself. He tried to enjoy the silence by getting some more sleep, but every time he closed his eyes, her surprised, flushing face appeared in his head. With a light growl, he rolled onto his side. It was just some girl. No one special at all. He didn't care if she was there or not. What business of his was it? None. He didn't care.

With a sigh of agitation, he sat up. "Yoru, we're going for a walk around town. Let's go." He grabbed his violin case and exited the roof, Yoru following after him.

Pruu walked around town with a smile on her face. She decided to go grocery shopping so she could make dinner for her parents. She was no master chef, but she could cook a decent meal. She was dressed in a pale blue sun dress and was carrying her grocery bag while she looked around carelessly. It had been a while since she had just walked around town. She felt healthy and refreshed. She was glad she had missed school.

"Everything's so lively, isn't it?" Airi asked cheerfully, her creator nodding in reply.

"This is fun. I haven't shopped in a while."

"Hey there," someone called out to her casually.

Pruu saw two men leaning against a wall casually. The one that had called her was seemingly the oldest. He had choppy brown hair and a smug look.

"What's your name, cutie?" he asked with a smirk. He pushed off the wall and walked over to her. "I'm Yobuki, and this is my buddy Gin. You look like you need some company while you're all by yourself."

Shaking her head lightly, Pruu replied, "I-I'm fine. I was just heading home, thanks. Ex-Excuse me…" She tried to walk past him but he blocked her path.

"C'mon, cutie. How about we go do karaoke or something fun? You like karaoke? We can have a great time, y'know?"

"C'mon, Pruu-chan," Airi said with a glare. "Let's Character Change and get this jerk out of our faces!" Just as she was about to make the change happen, an arm wrapped around her waist.

"Pruu-chan, there you are. I've been looking for you everywhere."

Pruu immediately looked back to see who was holding her. Her blue eyes widened and a flush flooded to her face when she recognized the boy in question.

Ikuto? She thought as her heart pounded in her head.

Bunnii: Here you go. Hope it was good. I decided to leave it at this to keep it interesting. Thank you to my small amount of fans that I deeply appreciate. Your attention on my stories make me happy. Look forward to the new update of Tell Me These Words Are A Lie, ANIMA, and the possibility of a new story soon J I might tell the secret or I might not reveal it at all. The world may never know ;)! Bye for now my lovies!


	4. Pictures on the mantle

Bunnii: Hey guys, sorry for the cliffy. I didn't want to but I wanted to post a new chappie and thought that was a good place to end it. My sister told me to wait a week after I finished to post this to FF. But, I would feel so horrible if I did. I love you guys too much. And I lost the written draft for ANIMA *cries* My beautiful Niva is lost! I'm okay. Well, here's the newest chapter from Tell Me These Words Are A Lie (I guess one day I should tell you guys about the title one day).

Ikuto? Pruu thought nervously. His arms were wrapped around her so tightly and she felt oddly secure now that he was there. His chin was resting on her shoulder as he watched the other men with a warning glance.

The one that called himself Yobuki gave Ikuto an irritated glare. "Who the hell are you?"

Ikuto merely scoffed. "Her boyfriend, obviously. Who are you?"

The other one, Gin, sneered in disbelief. "Psh, I highly doubt you're her boyfriend."

Ikuto sighed with irritation. "I don't have to deal with idiots like you. It's a waste of my time."

Yobuki glared at the ignorant teen. "You wanna start something, punk?"

Fear struck Pruu. Why was Ikuto risking his own safety just over something little like her? She quickly grabbed his arm by the elbow and lightly pulled. "I-Ikuto, we should j-just go." She pulled a little harder. "P-Please, Ikuto."

With a cold look to the two men, he blandly turned to Pruu and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "Fine. Let's go, Pruu-chan." He grabbed her hand and pulled her along.

She looked down at her feet as she walked beside Ikuto. "H-How did you find me, Tsukiyomi-san?" She flushed nervously at the warmth of his hand. "I mean, it's n-not like I'm ungrateful, of course I am… I-It's just….yeah….I don't know…"

Ikuto just kept his grip on her hand as he led her along the street. "I was just walking around town and I saw you so I decided to help. That's all."

"R-Really? But school isn't out yet. Did you d-ditch?"

He smirked at her when she mentioned ditching. "Aren't you ditching? Seems like you're calling the kettle black."

Pruu flushed in reply. It did look like she was ditching! "I-I'm not ditching! I'm just taking a sick day…" She looked away from his face, not being able to stare him in the face.

Airi started pouting angrily at Ikuto. "Where do you think you come in? We were going to Character Change! Don't butt in you stupid cat!"

Shocked, Pruu shushed her chara. "W-What Airi means is that she's very grateful you were there!" She laughed nervously and looked away, embarrassed.

Ikuto just chuckled lightly. "You must like me a lot, Pruu-_chaan._" He stressed the 'chan' while he smirked lightly.

"Huh? What makes you say that?" She flushed lightly.

He pulled her closer to him with his tongue stuck out. "Because you're still holding my hand."

Her face turned deep red and she jerked her hand away nervously. "I'm sorry!" Her hand was cold now without his holding it.

Much to the surprise of Pruu, Ikuto grabbed her hand again and gave her a smoldering gaze. "Do I offend you by being here?"

Pruu could do nothing but stare into his eyes as her face bled red. "…I…no… It's j-just… I…" A little mouthset appeared with a little 'pop'. "I want you here, Ikuto."

He kept his gaze the same. It engulfed her with its dark color. "And why is that, Pruu?"

She opened her mouth to speak confidently, before another 'pop' diffused the Chara Change and she pulled her hand away again. "It's nothing. Y-You don't have to be here, Tsukiyomi-san. G-Goodbye!" She took off running with her grocery bag.

"Baka baka!" She cursed herself. It wasn't her character to do things like want people around. She was fine with being alone. It was in her character to stay quiet. Her character…

"Airi, why did you do that?" she asked, completely embarrassed.

Airi pouted as she floated alongside Pruu, glad they were slowing down to a walk. "You said you would try to be your would-be self! You didn't try at all! Tell someone what you want for once!"

She looked away from the chara. "I can't. It's not in my character."

"Don't say that!" Airi's shout brought her attention to the little character. "If you say that too much, I'll become an X Egg and disappear! You'll lose all of your dreams and never be the you that you want to be! You can't give up on your dreams, you baka!"

Pruu hung her head low. "You'll disappear?" She didn't want that at all. "I don't want you to disappear…" Tears stung at her eyes at the thought of losing her only friend.

Airi nodded confidently, her black hair swishing with her head movements. "Then let's work on this together for real this time! I want you to be the person you want to be! To have your dream is a precious thing!"

"Precious…dream…." Pruu let her mind wander to her own dream, then shook her head. "I'm not sure I can… Am I strong enough, Airi?"

Airi smiled softly with her orange eyes. "Not yet. But, you can if you start acting like your true character. I'm here because you wished for your true self to have a chance to come out. Don't let the chance go to waste."

Nodding, Pruu turned back down the street and gazed at the small crowd that walked along. "Maybe I should apologize to Tsukiyomi-san for running away… But where would he be? He obviously wouldn't have gone after me since was so rude to him…" She started panicking. "What if he hates me? What if he never wants to talk to me again because he thinks I'm some kind of bipolar freak? Oh, no!" She fidgeted with her hands as she contemplated the other options.

"Only crazy people sit and talk to themselves on a busy street. You're really weird," said a familiar voice. Pruu turned to see the indigo haired cat standing in front of her casually.

"Tsukiyomi-san! I'm so sorry for the way I acted! I really am! I really hope there's some way I can make up for my horrible attitude towards you and how I ran off when you were just trying to help me all along! I'm so very sorry!" She bowed repeatedly in apology.

A hand was placed on her head while she was bowing. Ikuto's.

"Just calm down for one. It's weird that you do that. Two, how about you just walk with me, alright? I'll walk you home." He started walking in front of her.

The blue green haired girl quickly started after him and she help her eyes on the floor. After about two or three minutes of silence, something hit her forehead while she was looking down. She immediately looked up and rubbed her forehead. Ikuto's arm was out and he had made her forehead hit it.

"W-What was that for?" she asked offended.

He just looked at her plainly, although there was something in his eyes. "If you're always looking down, then you can run into things. Look ahead of you and you can see things better."

"Oh, okay…" She struggled against the urge to look down at her feet while she walked. Watching the small crowds of people that passed by her made her very nervous. Instinctively, she turned her gaze back to the little black shoes she wore on her feet. She was still able to maneuver around the people, she just hoped Ikuto wasn't looking.

A sigh was heard from the indigo haired boy as he put an arm around Pruu's shoulders. "Why do you do that?" he asked, not looking at her.

"Do what?" she asked, her eyes still on the floor.

"You never look up. Aren't you confident at all?"

She looked to the side, wanting to avoid his question, but knowing she couldn't. "I'm no, I guess. It's hard to break something you're so used to. And it's even harder to be something you're not sure anyone would like."

Ikuto's eyes held a knowing gaze in them. The feeling of being unsure about the acceptance of others was a feeling he could recall. He watched her face out of the corner of his eye. She looked so unsure of herself. So completely vulnerable. Her vulnerable aura made him remember those other two guys. The ones that wanted to take her out.

He unconsciously grit his teeth. She obviously didn't know how to say no to people like that. She could have just as easily have been whisked away forever. He could obviously tell the things those guys were thinking. Places they could take her. Things they could do to her. All of it made him angry, but he didn't know why. Maybe it was he hated it when the strong picked on the week. Maybe that was just it.

"You need to learn to be more confident," he suddenly said, startling the girl under his arm.

She scoffed at the idea, as if it were impossible. "And how do I do that? It's not like it's a class in school I can sign up for." She enjoyed the feeling of being under his arm though. She felt safe, like when he was holding her hand and when he was holding her in front of those older guys. She wanted to lean into him and stay inside this comfort. As she looked around at the people around her, she started to hear the whispers and glances.

"Who are those two kids? They're such a beautiful pair."

"Are they siblings? Or are they dating?"

"They're so cute. I wonder if that boy is a model though? He's pretty tall and rather good looking."

All the comments and glances made blood rush to her face and look away from the eyes that tried to look through her.

"Are you listening to me?" Ikuto's voice suddenly registered in her mind.

"Huh? I'm sorry, what?"

He chuckled lightly in reply. "I said I'm going to teach you then. I'll teach you how to be more confident." They had started to enter the more rural areas, close to where Pruu lived.

"You are?" Why would he bother himself with something like that? He really was a nice person….

"Yeah. Considering I know about your chara and all. It might help." Why was he volunteering himself for something like this? First, he was wondering where she was, they he was saving her from older guys, now he was volunteering to teach her how to be confident? What was this weird girl doing to him? Maybe it was that hopeful look she gave him. Her blue eyes were sparkling with the thought of being confident and her lips were slightly upturned with a small smile.

She wasn't an extraordinarily beautiful girl, nothing that was exceptionally intriguing about her. Nothing about her really stood out.

Maybe that was what was so interesting. Ikuto discreetly studied her face. Maybe there was something you had to really know her to understand. Maybe there was a secret quality she had that made her different. The prospect of finding this out drew the cat boy in further.

"Thank you, Tsukiyomi-san. I really, really appreciate all you've done for me so far. Thank you so very much. I will do all I can to repay you for all your kindness towards me." She smiled lightly at him still.

"Lesson one, I give you full permission to call me by my first name. I'm going to call you by your first name, and if you don't address me as 'Ikuto' or 'Ikuto-kun' I won't answer you at all. We'll move on after you master that." He didn't like being spoken to so formally. It made him uncomfortable. And the only girl who called him informally was Utau. Maybe things would become interesting with Pruu tagging along.

Pruu looked at him. "Are you sure?"

"Absolutely."

Pruu turned to a house he could only guess was hers and looked at him. "Um, would you…like to come in..?" She looked down at her hands as she fidgeted with the grocery bag. "I could make lunch or something to…. Thank you for helping me today…." She flushed at tried to avoid looking at him altogether.

Suddenly, Yoru- who had been silent until that moment- bounced un excitedly.

"We accept, nyah!" He quickly floated over to Pruu and started rubbing his face against her cheek affectionately.

Pruu smiled lightly at the display of affection and looked to Ikuto expectantly.

Why not? He had nothing better to do, after all. He nodded, making her smile more and she pulled out a key and opened the door.

"You can sit on the couch and just make yourself comfortable." She took off her shoes and walked in, Ikuto following suit. He saw her go into what he guessed was the kitchen.

"Are your parents here?"

"No," she replied from the kitchen. "They're at work. What would you like, Tsukiyomi-san?"

No reply.

"Tsukiyomi-san?" She looked out from the kitchen into the living room. He was still there, but he was just sitting on her couch with Yoru and his violin case, not paying attention to her.

"Tsukiyomi-san? Hello? What would you like for lunch?" When there was no reply, she frowned in irritation. Why wasn't he listening to her?

"Pst…." Airi whispered. "First name basis."

Pruu remembered what Ikuto had said only about five minutes ago. "Ikuto-san?"

Still nothing. Pruu flushed at the informality and finally surrendered to defeat. "Um,,, I-Ikuto?" She fought the urge to add 'san' to the end of his name.

It was as if he finally heard her. He turned with the same cocky smirk he always gave her. "Yes, Pruu-chan?"

"W-What would you l-like for lunch..?" she asked with an embarrassed flush. That smirk made her heart pound and her legs feel weak beneath her.

"Anything's fine. I don't really mind much." He just watched her as she returned into the kitchen. He looked around the room and took in the feel of the house.

Super professional and formal. It didn't really look like much of a house. Well furnished and clean, but lacking in any sense of livability. The walls were an off white and there weren't many items of interest. Boring paintings of boring things and nothing consistent. He looked the boring mantle and then his interest was piqued.

He looked back to the kitchen to see Pruu was cooking, not paying attention to him. He got up from the couch and walked over to the fireplace mantle, leaving his violin on the couch. There were only about 3 photos placed on the mantle. The first one of the mantle was a family photograph, Pruu's parents standing elegantly in their best wear while Pruu was in the middle of them, dressed rather elegantly herself. She looked pretty much the same herself, except her hair was longer in the photo- flowing gently past her shoulders (as her hair was currently, just barely past her chin, cropped lightly for texture). She smiled gently into the camera's direction. A perfect picture of the perfect daughter.

The second photo was by far the oldest. It was a wedding photo. Her mother looked years younger than she did in the current photo of her family and she was dressed in a very intricately designed wedding gown, holding a bouquet of flowers and smiling happily next to her husband. There were no photos like this where he lived- granted, he lived alone, but in his old home with his mother, there were no photos of his parents or even his family anywhere that he could remember. He turned his attention then to the third photo, the one that had caught his eye in the first place.

It was of Pruu- who looked to only be a small girl. She was dressed in a dark blue dress, her face round and childish. Her hair was very long, almost to her wait and a ribbon was tied on one side to hold some hair from her face. Her eyes were closed in bliss and she was doing something Ikuto never thought someone like her would be interested in. In her little hand was a microphone and she looked like she was singing into it.

"I-Ikuto? Lunch is….ready…" She notice him staring at the photos on the mantle and blushed in embarrassment.

He looked to her normally, as if it were no big deal. "Your hair used to be longer," he simply stated.

"Y-Yeah…. It got in the way when I got into high school." Surprisingly, her hair style choice had nothing to do with the girls around school. She simply desired a change.

He took one of the sandwiches she was holding on a tray and took a bite. "Your hair looked nice long." He watched Yoru take a fish cracker from the tray and start munching away happily.

Pruu had no response, she just set the tray down on the coffee table quietly. "I-I'm happy with my hair now… It's easy to manage."

"Do you still sing too?" he asked, much to her dismay.

"No. I don't sing anymore. It makes me sick"

That took wrong in Ikuto's mind. She was sickened by singing? Did she not like music, then? It was hard not to like music. Even he had an interest in the topic.

"Why don't you like it?" he asked. She was starting to become an interesting person.

"It's not that I don't like it, I do. I just can't sing anymore. I get sick easy and it's a strain on my throat sometimes. It's not really that big of a thing, really." Why was she opening up to Ikuto so easily? She looked to see if Airi had made her Character Change to be more honest, but the little chara was just floating around, munching on a little cookie. SHE herself was the one being more honest? She flushed with embarrassment.

"But you're singing in the photo and you seem fine" He wanted to know more. She was starting to really intrigue him.

She sighed in reply before she sipped at some tea to clear her throat. "I have a weak body. It just got worse the older I got. I would cough a little if I did things like that when I was younger. Now, I'll cough a lot and possibly pass out. It's not really anything too odd. I'm just a naturally weak person."

"You are an odd person," was Ikuto's response, slightly offending Pruu. "But I guess that's why you interest me."

Pruu flushed at the words that passed his lips and the gaze that he directed at her.

"Just kidding," he said with a chuckle. Pruu flushed at looked at him angrily.

"D-Don't toy with me…." She boldly pushed his chest since she didn't have it in her to hit him like most girls would do in her situation. When he hand moved to return back to her side, it was caught by Ikuto's who held it close to himself still. The blue green haired girl flushed and avoided his eyes. She had never been so close to a boy. She had never had a boy hold onto her arm when she would try to get away from him. They were only a foot or so apart on the couch and the closeness was something Pruu never experienced.

"Stop looking away. It makes you seem uncute." Was the only thing Ikuto said.

"And looking at people would make me seem cuter?" she questioned his logic, still looking away.

His free hand lifted her chin so she would be able to look at his face, and no matter how hard she tried, her eyes could avoid his smooth and pale face. Those deep dark eyes that searched hers for answers she didn't know the questions to.

"Extremely," he replied. His eyes were sultry and darkening as his voice lowered ever so slightly. "So cute I'd have to hide you from everyone and keep you to myself…" His face neared hers and they were inches apart. Pruu could feel his soft breath on her face and felt her own eyes closing on their own….


	5. First Tears

Bunnii: Okay, this time I meant to do the cliff hanger. It was just a perfect moment. And I think I'll address some questions briefly before I continue.

i'mthenewCAKEPIG: It's sort of a lung problem, but it mainly comes from a low immune system that ultimately makes her tolerance level lower than average. My brother hs this so he gets sick easy and when he yells, screams, laughs too loudly, or anything of the sort (especially loud singing), he can go into coughing fits that make him pretty sick. I'm not sure what it's called though. I hope I cleared it up for you J

LadyAmazon: To be honest, Pruu wouldn't really mind but Ikuto might. She's too fun to tease so he can't just leave her alone. And if you stole him, there'd be no love scenes L haha

Anyway, to the newest chapter, my lovelies 3

Pruu felt flushed as she was aware of Ikuto's breath on her face. He was so close to her face- only inches away. Her eyes were half-lidded while Ikuto's eyes looked at her with a sultry gaze. She was expecting the feeling of lips on her own when….

She felt a tug on her hair….?

"Got it." Ikuto leaned back with a smirk. "There was some of your hair out of place. I just had to fix it."

Pruu blushed furiously and looked away, making him chuckle.

"Were you expecting something else?" he teased.

She gave him an irritated glare. "I'm not talking about this anymore!" She turned away with a huff.

Suddenly, a hand was on her shoulder, making her jump and look behind her. Ikuto was looking at her with serious dark eyes.

"Tell me." He inclined his head downward and to the side to look at her. "Tell me what you're thinking right now."

Pruu watched the curious look in his eyes and found herself looking away from him out of instinct. "I'm not thinking about anything really….."

Airi let out a little growl from her position next to Yoru. "Can this be any more infuriating? Why didn't he make a move?"

"Because Ikuto-kun is cool like that, nyah," he replied, eating another cracker. "Why doesn't Pruu-chan make a move?"

The little ebony haired chara brightened up. "That's a great idea! Character Change!"

The same 'pop' sounded for the second time that day and Pruu looked to Ikuto with bold eyes, nearly catching him off guard.

Yoru sighed with disbelief. "Just can't control yourself with those changes, can you, nyah?"

Pruu stared into his eyes with full determination. "I think I really like Ikuto! You've been the first person not to treat me like a freak and you're so nice to me! Although your attitude confuses me, I really think I like Ikuto-kun!"

Ikuto sat there next to her for a good five seconds, speechless from the outburst.

During those five seconds, another 'pop' echoes throughout the silent house and Pruu regained her timid disposition.

"I…. I…." She quickly stood and let her bangs overshadow her face, that was blushing horribly. "I think it would be best if you left!" She covered her face and ran upstairs into her room, Airi following after her, spouting apology after apology.

Closing the door after herself, she threw herself onto her bed. "I was so stupid! I've just ruined one of the only friendships I had!" Tears fell down her cheeks and she tried not to sob. The last thing she wanted was to get sick again. "Baka… Baka…."

"I'm sorry. I didn't know you would say you liked him and I just wanted for you to do something for yourself for once…." Airi looked down, ashamed with her tactless actions. She floated over to her egg on Pruu's desk and went inside, letting her creator be alone.

"Why would he like me….? I'm just plain old Tachibaka…." she whispered, using the same cruel nickname she'd been called for so long. She buried her face in her pillow to hide her tears. She was startled when there was a knock on her door.

"Pruu." Ikuto? "I'm coming in."

"P-Please don't! J-Just go home!" She didn't want to face him. Not after the awkwardness she had just put him through.

"That was bold to say that to me earlier, but the boldest thing you could do is open the door and face me."

She stayed silent. She didn't want to be bold. She didn't want to face the rejection and the pain of being a loser in another person's eyes. She just wanted to fade away and disappear until everything she did could be forgotten. She didn't hear anything from the other side of the wooden door and took that as a sign that Ikuto left. She knew she was being a coward and a selfish brat for just confessing to him and then leaving him and crying about it, but she just didn't know what to do. She'd never liked anyone. She didn't even know she had feelings for him until she thought he was going to kiss her. She actually felt some hope that she would be able to have some happiness for herself. She felt stupid for thinking it was going to be that easy.

After a few minutes, she was left just sniffling lightly. She felt a lot better. She was happy she wasn't coughing and wanted to just go into her bathroom and clean herself up. She sat up and wiped the tears from her face. Hopping off her bed, she walked over to the door and opened it, only to hop back with a small surprised sound.

Ikuto was leaning his arm on the doorframe and was resting his head against his arm. He was looking at her- almost right through her- with this serious expression on his face and some unfamiliar emotion hidden behind his eyes. How long had he been standing there like that? Why would he stay there when she had gone bipolar on him and just basically yelled at him?

"I…Iku…to…" She looked down and tried to open her mouth to speak, but he interrupted her.

"Do you always tell guys you like them and then run off and hide?"

"…No… Ikuto is the first… I've never… liked a boy…"

"Then I'll give you a starter hint: don't run away from me. Some guys may find it cute or a challenge, but I don't. It's insulting." He didn't sound angry, just stating it as if he were telling her the weather.

Sarcastically, she retorted, "I'll remember that next time I confess to a boy…"

"No, you won't." He tilted her chin up to make her look at him. "I'm going to be the only guy you'll ever have confessed to." He looked pleased at her still expression. "From here on, you're my girl." He gently pulled her face close.

Was he going to kiss her? This time for real? Pruu closed her eyes with a blush on her face. She had no clue as to what to do at all. She was just hoping that when his lips made contact with hers, her mind could act on its own and tell her what to do. Her heart was racing ridiculously fast, but the kiss she expected never came.

Instead, she felt something against her cheek. Her eyes widened just in time to see Ikuto pull away. He….licked her?

"Gotta go." He stuck his tongue out in a teasing matter and started walking away. "Thanks for having me over, Pruu-koi…" His voice was so smooth when he used the affectionate term.

Pruu just stood in her doorway, eyes wide, face flushed, and heart thumping wildly.

" 'My girl'… huh?" She kind of liked the way that sounded. She flushed and let herself smile a little. When she heard the door close downstairs, she let a wide grin come onto her face and she jumped into the air happily.

Her little chara peeked out through the little egg she was in and smiled to herself. Although the immediate results weren't too good, the ending results of the Character Changes were going good. When would they be able to Character Transform…?

Bunnii: I'm sorry this couldn't be longer, but I thought it was pretty cute. The next chapter or the chapter after is going to involve more of the characters we know and love and I'm getting ready to throw in a little monkey wrench or two.

Thank you for the reviews and adds, my lovelies. I couldn't do it without your lovez 3

Also, I was going to make Ikuto kiss her the second time, but why make it easy for Pruu? Anyway, it seemed more like Ikuto to lick someone ^^.

Till next time!


	6. You Broke My Heart

Bunnii: I checked my email the day after I posted Chapter 5 and was all "WOW! It's been less than 24 hours and I got favorites, alerts and reviews! *swoon face* I'm so happy you people like my story 3 I love you all so much! *happy face* Well, now we're back to the next chapter.

A beeping alarm woke Pruu from her peaceful sleep. She was smiling through the sleepiness, even though the alarm clock was rather annoying. For once, something went well for her- well, disregarding the issue with herself running away and crying, of course. It was going to be wonderful day and she was very excited.

"Airi? Airi are you awake?" she asked curiously. She walked over and the little chara was asleep in her egg peacefully. Maybe it was better to just let her sleep instead of waking her up. So, she wrote a note to her little chara and started getting ready. She was surprised when she saw her father hadn't left yet.

"Running late, Daddy?" she questioned, popping bread into the toaster.

"He looked to her and smiled. "A little. I also wanted to see if you were feeling better."

"Yes. I'm feeling really good today." She grabbed her toast when it came out of the toaster and kissed her father on the cheek. "Love you, Daddy. Have a good day." She went upstairs to grab her back as she munched on her toast. Her father smiled after her, glad for his daughter's good mood. It made him a bit more relieved when he had to leave the house. She finished her makeup and walked to the door. When she opened it, she let out a sudden sound of surprise at what she saw.

Ikuto was on her porch, casually leaning against the wall with a bored look on his face. But, when he saw her, his dull look changed into one of amusement. He was smirking and cat ears and a tail came up with a mischievous 'pop.'

"Good morning, Pruu-chan," he greeted. "How was your night?"

Flushing at the memory of what had occurred, she covered her face. "Y-You know the answer to that." She tried to hide her face from him. She was rather shocked when she felt hands pry her own from her face. She stared into the deep violet eyes of the boy before her, noting the seriousness in his face. The deep pools were slowly flowing around her and washing away all coherent thoughts in her mind.

"Don't hide your face from me, Pruu. I can't stand that." He brought his face close to hers and pressed his forehead to hers and sighed. "Why do you do that?"

She avoided his deep eyes and blushed. "You're so close to m-my face…. And I've n-never dated anyone before…" She wanted to run and hide. She closed her eyes tightly as she blushed deeper. But her sky blue eyes shot wide open when he kissed her. His lips covered hers with a slight forced and he pressed her gently against the front door. She let him kiss her and kissed back, trying to equal his force, but failing greatly.

Ikuto chuckled into the kiss, amused with her attempts and made the kiss deeper. He familiarized himself with the feel and taste of her and enjoyed the shivers he felt from her, so he pressed himself against her body a little more. She gripped the fabric of his uniform shirt as she held onto his shoulders tightly. He rather enjoyed it.

After about a minute, he pulled away, leaving the blunette girl breathless and panting, with a deep blush on her face.

"I-Ikuto…" she panted weakly. "School…" She blushed and turned away from him.

The indigo haired boy just smirked and nodded lightly. He grabbed her hand and started walking her down the driveway. "I'm sure you don't want to be late."

She just looked away from him, embarrassed. She'd never dated anyone before, but Ikuto was just so calm and confident about everything he did. He must be so experienced. It kind of dampened her mood. He'd probably had MANY girlfriends that were gorgeous and less drab than her. She sighed as she followed being Ikuto quietly, looking at her feet as she walked. Without any warning, Ikuto stopped, making her bump into his back.

"Huh? I-Ikuto?" She looked up at the back of his head, rubbing her sore nose. When Ikuto turned around to look at her with his serious violet eyes, she blushed and looked down, fidgeting with the hem of her uniform. "I'm s-sorry. I sh-should have watched where I was g-going…." Was his angry at her for not paying attention?

Much to her surprise, Ikuto just grabbed her hand and pulled her to his side, keeping her there and making her walk at the same pace as him.

"Don't walk behind me. You'll hit something if I suddenly turn. Especially if you're always looking at your feet." That was all he said.

Pruu nodded with another blush, feeling embarrassed. She was annoying him, wasn't she? She did her best to keep up with his longer strides to please him. But, since his strides were longer than hers, she would constantly trip or just lose her balance. She was glad Ikuto was still holding her hand or else she would have fallen.

With a small amused chuckle, Ikuto slowed his pace for her. "Should've told me to slow down." Why wouldn't she just say anything about it? Any other person would tell him to slow down. She was just too odd to leave alone.

She blushed, much to his amusement. Her cheeks were always so rosy because of her shy attitude. "I'm sorry, I-Ikuto…"

Then he kissed her. Pruu blushed more as her sky blue eyes shot open in surprise. Ikuto just smirked into the kiss and held her close, not caring about who was looking- unlike her.

"I-Ikuto! We-We're in public!" she whispered. People were looking at them. She quickly grabbed his arm and dragged him away from the watchful eyes of the public. "Wh-Why did you do that?" she asked while looking around with her usual blush.

"Every time I hear you apologize to me, I'm going to kiss you." Although he would just kiss her anytime he wanted, he just wanted to prove a point.

Kiss her? Pruu was blushing and speechless. She apologized constantly! How could she just suddenly stop? Did she even want to stop. Kissing Ikuto every time she apologized seemed like something that would ENCOURAGE her to apologize. She shook that one odd thought from her head and nodded. "I understand…." She started walking down the street with him.

Teasingly, Ikuto jerked his arm slightly, making her bump into his side. "Hey." He mocked irritation.

Confused, Pruu immediately pulled back. "I'm sorry!"

Kiss.

Pruu blushed and pulled away. "Y-You did that on purpose!" Her accusation was answered when he just smirked as he led her into the school grounds.

He then let her hand go as he walked her to her class, confusing the blunette girl. "You don't want anyone to know, right? Some of the girls might tease you or something, right?" How did he know? The cat boy just kissed her temple when they were blocked from view by a building. "I won't let them tease you, alright? Just tell me or something when they do."

He was being so sweet. So gentle. There was no teasing tone, but sensitive instead. He was just too sweet to ignore or just nod to. Pruu stood up on her tip toes to kiss his cheek. "Th-thank you, Ikuto-kun….." Realizing her boldness, she blushed and twiddled her fingers. "Um, I-I have to, um, go…. Bye!" She hurriedly rushed off just as the bell rang.

Ikuto put a hand on his cheek. Bold, but she ran away. He chuckled with amusement. "I'll get you for running away." She was really just too interesting to just be left alone.

Pruu was in her class, hiding her blush as the teacher checked attendance. Ikuto really was such a tease. She suddenly found her desk to be very interesting as she just tried to focus on breathing normally. How could she just suddenly kiss him? Granted, it was on the cheek, but still! Why? Being bold was not in her character.

Character…. Airi. Pruu tried to secretly look around for the little chara. Could SHE be the cause of her sudden personality change?

"Airi," she whispered, hoping the chara would here her if she was nearby. "Come her right now."

And, as summoned, the little chara floated over quietly. "Yes, Pruu-chan? Is there anything you need?"

Pruu saw through the innocence. "When did you get to school and why did you change me?" she whispered.

"My, whatever do you mean?" When she saw her creator giving her a certain look, she smiled meekly. "I'm sorry. But, you and Ikuto are dating now, right? You should kiss him and be all lovey dovey, you know?" She puffed irately. "You are just so difficult sometimes."

The blue eyes girl looked disapprovingly at the chara. "Difficult? Really? Difficult? Me? I just don't like Ikuto teasing me. That's all." She sat back in her chair and pouted. She just wanted it to be lunch so she could sit on the roof with Ikuto. She just wanted to sit there and listen to his voice, and maybe even hold his hand if he'd let her. That would be a wonderful lunch period.

The lunch bell rang and Pruu was excited to finally be able to see Ikuto. She carefully made her way up the stairs that led to the roof. She really wanted to see him and just be around him. She didn't even mind that Airi would be fluttering around. She'd get to see Ikuto and that would be all that mattered. Giddily, she opened the door and….

No Ikuto…

"Ikuto?" she called. Maybe he was out of sight? When she got no reply, she just went over and sat down. Maybe he was held back in a class or was in the restroom. She had no reason to worry. She smiled a tiny bit. She couldn't wait to see the indigo haired boy, but she'd be good and wait.

And she waited.

And waited.

And waited some more.

Finally, the lunch bell rang, and Pruu knew he wasn't coming.

"Maybe he had lunch detention?" she inquired to herself. She couldn't fly off the handle and jump to conclusions. Ikuto said he liked her and she would believe him.

"That's it! Lunch detention!" Airi agreed. "Ikuto-kun is just to stubborn to listen to the teachers and it got him in trouble. That's all. He'll pick you up after school and you two can walk together and hold hands!"

That thought made the blunette's heart flutter. Holding Ikuto's hand? Simple, but it made her happy all the same.

School ended and Pruu waited by the front gates for her new boyfriend. She'd gotten there right after the bell rang so she was sure he'd come a little later. She had all the time in the world to wait for him.

And she waited.

And waited.

And waited some more.

"There's a pattern forming," she muttered to herself. There were only students that were in after school activities left besides her and she knew Ikuto didn't do any sports or activities. "Where could you be, Ikuto?" She stared at the ground helplessly.

"Don't worry, Pruu-chan. He'll show up. Maybe if we wait a little longer."

Pruu nodded her head and leaned against one of the front gates. He'd show up soon.

10 minutes.

20 minutes.

30 minutes.

An hour went by.

Another hour.

It had been at least 2 hours. Was he coming at all?

"I need to go home," Pruu muttered to herself.

"No! Pruu-chan! He'll come! We just need to-"

"No, Airi. I'm going home. Let's go." She picked up her bag and left. Airi had no choice other than to follow.

They were walking past the park that was on the way to her house when she heard something that caught her attention.

A girl's voice called out, "Ikuto-kun!"

Pruu froze. Should she check it out? Maybe it wasn't the right Ikuto. Maybe it was a different one. But what if it wasn't? Why was some girl calling him so familiarly? Curiosity got the best of her and she went to go see.

There were four people there. Some little boy with brown hair, a little girl with pink hair, some blonde girl about her age, and….

Ikuto. The Ikuto that hadn't bothered to show up to see her. Was this what he had been doing? The blonde girl was on top of him while her was laying on the floor. She was yelling about something.

"It's always Amu, isn't it, Ikuto? Why do you care for her so much? Can't you see I love you too? I love you way more than anyone else ever could!" She brought her head down and kissed him. His eyes widened and for some odd reason, his gaze went to the side.

That's when violet eyes made contact with baby blues.

Pruu quickly turned away and left. Who was that girl? Who was that Amu girl she was talking about? How many others were there? Pruu rubbed her eyes and tried not to cry. Her first boyfriend and he'd already cheated on her. This was horrible!

"Pruu-chan, I'm sorry. I wish I could give a reason why that would happen and say it wasn't true, but I don't think I can." Airi floated next to her and bowed her head.

"I-It's not your fault," she choked. "Ikuto j-just doesn't see m-me as someone that's go-good enough to date." She wanted to go home. She wanted to cry. She wanted to just sit in her room and be hurt. To lay on her bed and let her tears fall until she could properly fake a smile without any problems if she were able to see Ikuto again.

She hurried through the small crowds of people who were most likely all just getting off from work. She needed to get home. She needed to be alone. She wanted to escape it all. The girls at school, her family that sheltered her too much. She wanted to escape Ikuto and the feelings her made her have.

His love was just a lie. All of the kisses and all of the sweet words and the times he held her hand. It was all just a lie. She let herself like him so much just because he was nice to her. She had much to learn about the world.

"Pruu-chan!" She faintly heard her name being called. By the familiar voice she was trying to escape. Deep and smooth. She had to escape it. But still, she turned back to look. She couldn't stop herself.

Slipping through the crowd as quickly as he could was the indigo haired boy that was burning inside Pruu's swirling mind. He was moving towards her with the cat like grace that he'd learned by having Yoru by his side for so long. She couldn't face him. Not now. Although parts of her were screaming for her to stay and listen to him, to let him sweep her off her feet with what could possibly be a series of lies and just be comforted in his arms, she turned away from him and made her way through the crowd ahead of her. If he made his way to her, she knew she'd melt and there would be no use refusing him.

"Pruu-chan, wait!" She heard him calling again. She clenched her eyes closed and forced herself to keep going. She could feel Airi's uneasiness as she followed beside her.

She heard something behind her and suddenly there was a voice in her ear.

"Pruu-chan, what up, nyah!" Yoru. "Ikuto's trying to get to you! He needs to tell you about what happened!"

"I'm sorry but I don't want to hear it, Yoru," she forced herself to reply. She wanted to hear Ikuto's lies and cling to them desperately, but she couldn't.

"But the whole thing with Utau-chan is different, nyah!" Yoru interjected.

Utau-chan? That was the girl's name? Chan? Yoru called her 'chan'. Did Ikuto call her by that informal suffix as well? Did he hold her hand and walk her to school too? Did he tell her sweet things to melt her heart and kiss her too? Did he have her confess to him and just fool her? How many others were there?

"I'm sorry, Yoru! Goodbye!" She moved faster through the crowd, and when she moved onto her street, she broke into a run. She'd make it there before Ikuto could get to her. And she wouldn't let herself get sick from this. She wouldn't let Ikuto see her as weak.

Ikuto saw Yoru float back over to him and saw the look on his chara's face. Pruu wasn't listening to him. He needed her to understand. His idiot sister and pushed him down and kissed him. Something caught his eye and saw Pruu standing behind one of the trees in the park. Their eyes caught for a second before she turned and ran away. He saw it then. The hurt in his eyes. The same hurt he himself had felt once before. The hurt of being betrayed by someone you loved.

He pushed through the crowd faster at this point. He needed to get to her. He needed her to know the truth. When he turned onto her street, he broke into a run. She was well ahead of him and he knew it'd be best to pick up speed. He pushed himself faster and was decreasing the distance between the two of them. He pushed farther when he saw her running up her driveway to her house. Only a few feet between them. Maybe 5 or 6 at most.

"Pruu!" He needed her to stop. She could get sick because of him.

All because of him.

"No!" Pruu was able to open her front door and get inside, slamming it behind her. Ikuto's hands were pressed against the door, not pushing, but supporting his own weight. He needed something to help him stand. He couldn't stand the wall of separation between them.

"Pruu-chan! Listen to me!" he called through the wooden door.

"No! I don't want to hear it!" she replied. She had her back pressed to the wood separating them and slid down to a sitting position. She was panting lightly as she tried to drown out his words with her racing heartbeat.

"Let me explain about Utau." She heard him say.

There it was again! That name! Utau! "I don't want to hear it!" She was so jealous it hurt. "And I don't want to hear about Amu either! I don't want to hear about any of those girls! Go away!"

"Amu? What? Wait, Pruu, you don't understand. Let me in and I'll explain everything." his voice was softer then. Almost to the point where she couldn't hear him.

"I don't want an explanation, Ikuto. I want you to go away."

He muttered something through the door. She couldn't hear him.

"What?"

"Nothing. I'll leave you alone for a while." His sentence was followed by a long silence.

Quickly, Pruu stood and opened the door, seeing that the cat boy indeed was gone. The front porch was vacant, and there was no evidence that he was even there to begin with.

"Ikuto…" She sighed and walked back inside. Her heart hurt.

Bunnii; I tried to make this chapter longer because I took so long to get this out. There is trouble in paradise! Can Ikuto explain before things are beyond repair? Sorry it took so long and I hope you like the chapter. A new one will be posted shortly.


	7. The Explanation

Bunnii: Oh, my DARLINGS! It's been exhausting! I graduate in roughly 2 weeks! And I will use this small space to thank people.

Thank you to ALL of the people who added this story to either an alert list, favorite, or both! Thank you to the people who have been patient with me.

To Jessluvswriting: Yes, Utau ruined it. She just had to (:

And to LadyAmazon: Thank you very much. You're reviews give me the drive to keep going.

As for the many rest of you that have reviewed: THANK YOU! 10 (because 3 is not enough)

Now to continue on with the drama!

Pruu heard the blaring of her alarm clock again. She honestly didn't want to get up. She turned it off and rolled over onto her other side. She wanted to stay in bed forever and never move.

A soft knock sounded on her door and she made a small sound of acknowledgement. The door opened and her father walked in.

"Your mother has left for work already. Are you going to school?" He always had such a soft voice when he spoke to her. Unlike the booming, confident voice he used at his workplace.

School. Ikuto was at school. Maybe this was why she'd always avoided boys. They'd break her heart and make her want to stay at home and ditch school.

She sighed quietly. Maybe she could just avoid Ikuto and still go to school. Find a new spot to sit quietly and just continue on as if he never existed. That was a good plan.

"I'm going, Papa." Her term when she was trying to show she was fine. "I was just a little sleepy." She sat up in her bed and smiled a little.

Her father managed a smile and sat on the bed next to her. "Do you feel sick, koi fish?" He placed his hand along her forehead and pressed his other hand to his forehead. "You do feel a little warm. What do you want to do?" He was always so gentle around her. He let her do whatever she wanted. Yet always let her have the choice. Her mother would have felt the temperature change and have a fit unless she stayed home.

That was their differences.

Pruu smiled at her father. "I should be fine." Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Airi waking up and getting out of her egg. Oh no!

"I'll be fine, Papa!" she said louder than she meant to. "I mean, I don't feel sick. You should go to work. Don't want to be late, right?" Just talking that much made her throat hurt.

He was surprised at how quickly she was reacting and just nodded. Maybe she just had a little bit more energy than normal. Would that be a good thing?

"Alright, if you're sure, koi. Just be careful. Do you want me to drive you?" He was a little worried still.

"No thank you, Papa. I'll walk slow. If you don't go now, you might be late." She watched him leave and sighed, closing her door. She looked back at Airi in confusion. "Papa couldn't see you…." Then she remembered what Yoru said. Adults couldn't see charas. "Thank goodness." She coughed a little into her hand. Her throat was hurting a lot.

"Maybe you should stay home, Pruu-chan." Airi floated over with elegant grace. "I don't think it would be good if we bumped into Ikuto."

Pruu slammed her hand against the desk. "I don't care about Ikuto Tsukiyomi." Her stomach felt hollow and sick. Maybe she just needed some toast.

She went into the kitchen and made some toast, tearing a piece off and giving it to Airi to munch on. She ate her toast slowly and drank a glass of milk. The day was seeming to go by slowly.

"You sure you want to go?" Airi asked, her little bell-like voice chiming.

Pruu ignored her and went into the bathroom to brush her teeth. She grabbed her bag and left through the back door. She didn't want Ikuto to try and get to her.

Ikuto sat on her front porch like he had done the day before. He wanted to talk to her and explain everything to her. He cursed under his breath. Stupid Utau. Why did she have to have some weird complex involving him? Yoru floated next to him, enjoying the morning sun rays.

"Maybe she went ahead, nyah," Yoru suggested.

Ikuto sighed and looked at her door for a moment longer. He was starting to get irritated with her. She should try and at least listen to him. His violet eyes narrowed and he pouted impatiently.

With cat-like grace, he climbed up to her second story and looked in through her balcony window. There was no one there and the room was neat. Even her bed was made. Ikuto scowled. She had snuck past him.

Sighing, the indigo haired neko sat down and looked at the sky. Stupid girl. His expression changed to flustered and irate. He acted stupidly the day before.

_His hand was pressed against her door. He wanted her to open up and talk to him. _

"_Pruu-chan! Open the door!" He was only speaking loud enough for her to hear him, not enough for anyone else to know._

"_No! I don't want to hear it!" She was really being such a stubborn girl. He just needed to be able to explain to her face to face._

"_Let me explain about Utau." He knew that was the wrong way to word it when Yoru looked at him warily._

"_I don't want to hear it!" He could even hear the jealousy in her voice. Why would she be jealous over someone like Utau?_

"_And I don't want to hear about Amu either! I don't want to hear about any of those girls! Go away!"_

"_Amu? What? Wait, Pruu, you don't understand. Let me in and I'll explain everything." he was trying to speak to her softly. To reassure her that he wasn't lying. It wasn't working. _

"_I don't want an explanation, Ikuto. I want you to go away."_

_He cursed under his breath. Utau and her big mouth. He was seriously going to get her back. She always had to go and do stupid things._

_In a last attempt to get her to open the door, he sighed and muttered something through the door._

"_You're the one I like, stupid girl."_

_He guessed she didn't hear him since she responded with "What?"_

_It was a stupid thing to say. She was just interesting. She was just some girl he was amusing himself with. He sighed and took his hand off the door._

"_Nothing. I'll leave you alone for a while." He shoved his hands in his pockets and walked down the driveway, turning to leave her house, Yoru following after him._

Ikuto's face was irritated and flustered. He needed to get a hold of himself. She was just a girl. He didn't need to go off and say unnecessary things.

Yoru floated with a cat-like grin as they were walking down the street to the school.

"Hehe, Ikuto-kun, you're becoming a softie, aren't you, nyah?" He giggled and started going around in circles. "Ikuto and Pruu-chan, sitting in a tree. K-I-S-S- Ack! Nyah!" His singing was interrupted when Ikuto pinched his cheeks and pulled them apart.

"Sowwy, Ikuto," he mumbled through the pain in his cheeks, and rubbed them sorely when Ikuto let him go.

Ikuto kept silent and continued walking to the school. He'd find the little blunette girl if it was the last thing he did. He wouldn't leave things as is.

Pruu sat in her third period class, dreading that lunch was after class. She'd been able to avoid Ikuto all day, she just needed to get through lunch, then she would be completely fine. She looked at the clock anxiously. Maybe she'd go hide in the music room or the literature room. She needed a place to hide until lunch was over.

"Tachibana-san, may I have your attention, please?" the teacher asked.

Pruu flushed. "Yes, sensei."

Some of the kids giggled and she heard the murmurs.

"What a loser."

"Serves her right for how she acted."

"Oh, when she yelled at Hio-chan? Yeah, what a brat."

"She's just jealous."

"Did you see her fake sick when sensei came over to stop them?"

"Yeah! What a freaky girl!"

"Yeah, don't make her angry or she'll get you in trouble too!"

Pruu looked down at her desk, more depressed than before. She was feeling terrible. Standing up for herself resulted in something like this? Tears were stinging her eyes. She hated getting picked on.

"_Tell me or something if they pick on you, alright?"_

Ikuto's words stung her more than the teasing. She wanted to go and find comfort with him. But, there was Amu and Utau that had probably been in that place too.

"Tachibana-san, would you like to be excused to the nurse's office?" the teacher asked, looking at the girl with her head resting on the table.

"Yes, ma'am," she muttered weakly.

"Well, you're excused."

Pruu gathered her things and left the classroom, trying to ignore the gossip being whispered about her.

I'm a freak, she though. A stupid pathetic freak.

Tears welled in her eyes and she wiped them away.

"Don't listen to them, Pruu-chan," Airi encouraged. "They just don't understand you. One day, they'll realize how mean they were and regret it!" She really wanted to cheer her up and just make her smile a little.

"Thanks, Airi," she muttered. She knew Airi had good intentions, and she really did help her feel a little better. She'd be so alone without Airi.

She entered the nurse's office and eventually just laid on one of the beds and stared at the ceiling, feeling her heart drop when the bell rang. Looked like she didn't have to work hard to avoid Ikuto.

She couched a little into her hand. Her throat was still hurting and she just fatigued.

Maybe she should have just stayed home. She was really starting to feel sick.

So, she spent the entire lunch period bouncing between coughing, staring at the ceiling, and thinking of Ikuto.

When the lunch bell sounded, she just sat up. She wouldn't be able to sleep. Maybe going out to PE would make her feel better since the air outside was better for her. She stood up and left, Airi following after her quickly, also hoping the fresh air would help.

Pruu sat at the PE area, feeling a little better from the fresh air. Her throat was still hurting though and she sill felt fatigued. She would just sit down though, so she should get over it soon.

Surprisingly, Hio and her friends didn't come over to bully her, although they gave her glares and dirty looks. She didn't mind though. The looks didn't bother her much. Only their words did and she couldn't hear them at all.

"How are you feeling, Pruu-chan?" Airi asked, sitting in the lap of her creator.

"Fine," she quietly muttered in reply. It was better for her throat if she didn't speak too loud.

"That's good. Maybe we can go home after school and drink some nice warm tea and take a long nap. That should fix you right up. And when you're better, we can play!" Airi really was like an excitable child.

"Mhm." Pruu closed her eyes and enjoyed the feel of the sun. This was the first amount of peace she'd gotten since the entire thing with Ikuto the day before. It was something she really needed.

The PE bell rang and Pruu smiled to herself a little. She could go home now and her and Airi could relax.

She was walking out of the campus like all the other students. She hadn't seen Ikuto all day and it was pretty stress-free. She walked along the street and just looked around. She still wasn't feeling well and that nap really sounded good to her at the moment. The crowds walking along the street were thick with people with places to go. Some moved past her quickly and others moved slowly alongside her. She had decided to chose a different route to get home, so that she wouldn't bump into Ikuto in any way.

"Maybe we should have taken a different route, Pruu-chan," Airi said, floating above her head as to not get lost.

"Maybe, but we'll be fine." Crowds were not her strong suit. She was actually getting really uncomfortable. Someone accidentally bumped into her, making her nearly run into someone else. She apologized and kept trying to walk. More people would accidentally bump into her and she was basically fighting just to not bump into any one else or stumble and fall.

"Pruu-chan, I want out of this crowd," Airi pleaded, holding onto a lock of Pruu's hair carefully.

"I know," she replied. It was just a little longer until the street that led to her house. "Just bear with me." Because of the closeness of the crowd, she was having a tough time getting her own space and it was starting to stress her out. She was starting to regret choosing a different route just to avoid a boy.

A dizzy spell hit Pruu in the midst of the stress. She took in a sharp breath and started coughing. Her head was hurting with every cough, as was her throat. She covered her mouth and tried to keep her vision steady.

The crowd parted and someone came to her side. "Miss, are you alright?"

Pruu didn't have the air to reply between the coughs as her head started to spin. The familiar feeling of the floor crumbling underneath her manifested, but she never felt the ground. She felt a slight warmth before the cold overtook her. She could have sworn she heard someone calling her name, but she couldn't be sure.

Her hearing came first and she heard a soft steady beep. Then another one. It was a rhythm that sounded very familiar.

Then she could smell something she wasn't too fond of. Some kind of antiseptic and maybe bleach?

Then her mind went back into focus. She knew where she was even before she opened her eyes. She was in a hospital. She opened her eyes and looked around. The walls were white and she could feel the IV in her arm. The sick feeling she remembered was gone and she felt stiff as she turned hr head to see if anyone was in the room. She saw the window that let her see into the hospital hallway. There was a man in a white coat- obviously the doctor- and her parents. She wasn't surprised by that. Her parents would always be there if she got sick. They were often times too caring. But she smiled upon seeing them nonetheless.

They noticed she had come to and hurriedly walked into the room.

"Pruu-chan," her mother addressed her with a worried face, cupping her daughter's face in her hands. "Papa said stay home. Listen to him, you stubborn, silly girl." She kissed Pruu's forehead a few times.

Pruu nodded her head. "Sorry for worrying you." She had no excuse. She smiled innocently, hoping it would help. Her mother looked at her with a look she couldn't place. Like she knew something that she didn't.

"Papa has something to say to you," her mother said. Now, she recognized the look.

She was in trouble.

The doctor excused himself and her father looked at her crossly. "Pruu Tachibana, you have some explaining to do, young lady."

He never called her by her full name unless she was really in trouble. She swallowed the lump in her throat and sighed.

"I know, Papa. I just wanted to go to school, is all. I rested in the nurse's office so I thought I would be okay. I just got swept up by the crowd and I got super dizzy. I'll never ever do it again, I promise." She hoped that would quell his upset disposition.

"I am not talking about you getting sick." Pruu's face dropped. What would get her into trouble then? "Young lady, I am talking about the boy."

"Boy? What boy?"

"The one who's claiming he's you're boyfriend." Her father's face looked like that of any father whose daughter had introduced a boyfriend.

Boyfriend? She looked out the hospital window and saw a indigo haired boy leaning against the wall, looking at the people passing by casually.

"I-Ikuto!" She looked to her parents. "Why is Ikuto here?"

Her father looked crestfallen. It was true. His daughter knew the boy and didn't deny his being her boyfriend.

Her mother was the one to reply in place of her distraught husband. "Honey, he's the one that brought you I. He said he was walking you home and you got sick and fainted. He rode with you in the ambulance and he's the one that called us." She was confused by her strange daughter. How would she not remember being walked home by such a beautiful young man?

Pruu blushed and looked at the sheets of the bed. Even after avoiding him and yelling at him, he had found her and still taken care of her. She'd had been dreadfully awful. Ikuto really did care for her. She looked through the window at him again and this time he saw her. He noticed her was awake and he gave her a small smile. It wasn't sensitive or bitter. It was just a smile. It was almost apologetic. He was sorry? She should be the one that was sorry. She avoided him and he still cared so much. Yoru floated into view and his face brightened up. He waved excitedly and she gave him a small wave back.

Ikuto said something to Yoru, who nodded and waved again before floating away. Ikuto returned his gaze to Pruu and his violet eyes were almost smoldering. He mouthed something but she couldn't read his lips. He stopped leaning against the wall and waved a little before walking away. Was he really just going to leave? Was it because it was what he thought she wanted? No!

She took the IV from her arm and the little heart monitoring device from her body and threw the sheets off herself, startling her parents.

"Pruu Tachibana! Get back to bed now!" Worry laced their words. What was their daughter thinking?

She leapt from the bed and rushed to the door, jerking it open and rushing into the hallway. She hurried down the hallway and after the retreating back of Ikuto.

"Ikuto-kun!" Her eyes were filling with tears, but she wasn't sure if they were sad or not. The linoleum floor was cold against her feet and she was worried about crashing into some poor person.

Ikuto obviously heard her calling him since he turned around. He was surprised though when she crashed into him, wrapping her arms around his waist and burring her face in his chest. The material of his uniform absorbed her tears before they could even fall. Ikuto was glad he had the reflexes of a cat since any other person would have fallen over from the force. He looked at her with an amused smile and brought his arms around her also.

"Yes?" he asked calmly.

"Don't go…" she muttered. She looked up at his with watery blue eyes. He chuckled at her childish face and leaned his head down, pressing his forehead to hers.

"Really now?' he asked with an amused smirk. "And why not?"

She sniffled a little and her eyes clenched closed with a blush. "Because…. Because, Ikuto-kun is the one I like best."

He smirked and tucked her head under his chin. "Pruu-chan is the one I like best also." He pulled her away a little bit. "Let's get you back to your bed." He picked her up bridal style and started walking down the hallway.

"Ikuto-kun, stop! This is embarrassing!" He ignored her as he brought her back to her room and set her on the bed.

Her mother and father stared at the boy and their daughter. Her father was the first one to speak.

"Listen here, young man. If you think you can just waltz in and snatch away my daughter, you've got another thing coming to you." He was about to follow it with a threat, but his daughter looked at him pleadingly and Ikuto just looked at him placidly.

He cleared his throat and sighed. "Wh-What I mean to say was…" He bowed his head respectively. "Thank you very much for taking care of my daughter." Her mother bowed her head to with a smile and pulled her husband out of the room with a smile.

Ikuto sat in the chair next to her bed and looked at her. "Ready to hear my explanation?"

She flushed and nodded. "Yes…"

Ikuto took a small breath and began to explain. Utau- the blonde girl- is my sister." He saw the weird look Pruu gave him and continued. "She jumped on me and kissed me. I have no romantic feelings for her whatsoever. As for Amu, she's a grade schooler that I tease. She has charas as well and she is in a group with someone I knew as a child. I have no romantic feelings toward either girls, nor have I ever." He looked at her with pools of violet. "Do you believe me?"

Pruu turned red and turned her face away. "Yes… I do. I'm sorry for being so jealous and stupid…." She kept her eyes away from his direction. She was such an idiot.

Ikuto used one of her hands to force her to look at him and looked at her with those deep pools of color that she could just drown in.

"So, is everything alright with us?" he asked her, though he already knew the answer.

"Y-Yes…." She blushed more when Ikuto gave her a smirk.

"Good." He kissed her forehead and paused. "Now, we just have to figure out how you'll make it up to me."

"Huh?" 'Make it up to him'?

He smirked even more. A befitting look for a cat. "I have just the thing." He pressed a gentle finger to her soft lips. "You have to kiss me."

"Huh?" Her face turned red.

"Yup. Not on the cheek, but on the lips. A full 5 seconds, and no chara changes allowed." He looked to Airi at that one. "After avoiding me all this time and making me worry so much, I deserve that much." He stayed in his leaning position and looked at her. "Go ahead."

Pruu was bright red. His face was close enough that she could kiss him, but it was so embarrassing! She turned red. Was he going to watch her kiss him? "I-I-Ikuto….. Cl-Close your eyes…" Something to make it less embarrassing.

He chuckled and did as he was asked, closing his eyes and waiting patiently. He didn't move an inch and Pruu sucked in a deep breath for courage.

It's now or never! She thought. She leaned forward and closed her eyes tightly. She felt Ikuto's soft lips on hers and she felt her face get super hot. Ikuto responded to the kiss, but he just pressed his lips to hers, not making any attempts for anything else.

One.

Two.

Three.

Four. Pruu's face couldn't get any darker.

Five. She slowly pulled away and her eye lids fluttered open shyly.

"Th-There…. Are you still upset?" She looked at him with her sky blue eyes innocently.

He smirked at her. "Nope. But your dad might be. He saw the whole thing." He chuckled, amused. "Maybe he thinks his daughter's a pervert?" He chuckled and kissed her forehead a little, entertained by her rising temperature.

"I'll see you at school tomorrow, okay?" He took her hand and kissed her fingertips. "Bye." He waved and left, a snickering Yoru floating after him.

Pruu's face was tomato red and getting worse. Her father saw…? She looked out the window and saw her father with an unbelievable expression. She waved nervously and quite hesitantly. What had Ikuto gotten her into….?

Bunnii: Hey, sorry it's taken a while. Been busy. And been having my own romantic adventures…. Only, I fail worse than Pruu, Can't even look at my bf and sometimes I get so nervous I can't even look at him . Suckssss. Well, hoped you enjoyed the chapter. If you read my ANIMA Lover one, please vote: Genesis or Zack? I won't continue until I get at least 3-4 votes for one side. Please? I'll love you so much…..


	8. Mechanical Diva

Bunnii: calm down, people. I've been more tied up than a calf at a rodeo. FML people my college life hasn't even started yet and I already want to drop out. This is getting too complicated just to set up my classes. My school is a bunch of idiots. Anyway, sorry for the delay. I'm writing a Genesis yaoi, an Angeal Hewley story with a secretary, a Black Butler story, a DNAngel story, and I'm rewriting my Sasuke story because I like my new ideas better. I'm trying to do a lot at once and thanks for sticking around, people. Anyway, if anyone has any ideas for any story they want to hear, just let me know and I'll try my best (: Enjoy.

Pruu was laying on her stomach on her bed, doodling in her notebook while humming a little. She smiled and let out a giggle at what she was doodling.

Like any love struck teenage girl ,she was doodling hers and Ikuto's names in her notebook in purple and blue ink. She loved the color purple. It was the color of Ikuto's eyes. She blushed a little when she saw Airi looking over her notebook. "Don't judge." Was her only sentence. She was so happy everything with her and Ikuto had worked out wonderfully. She hadn't seen him at yet all day because she had to stay home since she got back from the hospital. Maybe she'd see him once school got out? She started giggling and making girlish noises while rolling around on her bed and holding her pillow. The thought was exciting and so romantic to her. She calmed down and then looked to Airi. "Let's look our best for today, alright?"

Airi nodded excitedly, her ponytails bobbing with her head, "Right! We need to look cute!" She giggled. It was so great that her creator was getting so excited. Maybe today would be a fun day?

After showering, Pruu was rifling through her closet, looking for something cute to wear. She had a robe on to cover her undergarments, but still had yet to find a cute dress or outfit to wear. She didn't want to overdo it or underdo it. At all. She wanted to look perfect. Then she found it, the perfect outfit!

Giggling, she put it on. It was a pair of very slimming black skinny jeans that had a cute silver studded belt hanging off the hip. And the top was a light gray over the shoulders sweater top. Pruu looked the outfit over and smiled. She loved it! She got started on her makeup and smiled at Airi more when it was done. "There, perfect!" She giggled excitedly.

"But what about your hair?" Airi asked. "You haven't done a thing with it."

Pruu paused and looked back into the mirror. She was right. But she never did anything with her hair. It was just always a short, croppy, unruly mess that just did what it wanted. She started to pout. Maybe she should try growing it long again? Did Ikuto even like girls with long hair? She gently grabbed one of the bluish green locks. "What am I going to do with you?" She couldn't do anything fancy and she didn't have any cute bows or anything to put in her hair. She didn't have rubber bands since it was too short either. She didn't even have headbands or anything. She sighed. She had nothing for her hair.

"Pruu-chan! Pruu-chan! I have an idea!" Airi smiled and floated around excitedly before she hurried into Pruu's bathroom. She emerged with several black bobby pins. "Look!" She started putting them into Pruu's hair, making them crisscross into little 'x's and moved the hair from her face in a cute fashion. "There!" She smiled excitedly, her orange eyes sparkling with happiness. "I did such a wonderful job!" she cheered.

Pruu nodded her head. Airi made her hair look so pretty even though they were just a few bobby pins. Would Ikuto like it? Scaring both her and her Chara, Pruu's phone started to ring. She went to the phone and picked it up. "Moshi moshi? (Customary Japanese phone greeting)"

"Hey, you home?" Ikuto!

"Yes. Are you out of school?" Of course she already knew that, but she couldn't help asking it anyway.

"Yeah. Hey, do you want to go to the park or something? It must be boring just sitting in your house all by yourself." She could practically see his smirk. She blushed lightly.

"I'd like that very much. I'll meet you there? I've got a surprise for you." She was hoping he'd like the way she dressed up.

"Really? Looking forward to it then. "I'll meet you at the park by your house." She could tell he didn't want her traveling too far from home by herself. It was kind of sweet. "And I'll be there in about ten minutes."

"Sounds like a lot of fun. I'll meet you there. Bye bye." She hung up after hearing his own goodbye. She jumped around excitedly. "I'm going to go see him! I'm going to go see him!" She was so excited, she could just die! She quickly grabbed a small purse with her keys and wallet and rushed downstairs. Her parents were at work. She put her cell phone into her purse and hurried out of the house and down the street. The park was only a few minutes away so she could get there quickly and she wouldn't really have to wait long for Ikuto at all.

The park was a very quiet one. There were a few children playing on the playground sets together and there were some people sitting on the benches. An old man feeding the birds, a couple strolling their baby along, someone walking their dog. Everything that would be expected in a park. Pruu loved this park for that very reason. It was so pretty and at night, the streetlamps lit up and sometimes someone would come by and play music. Like a guitar or they would do small parlor tricks. It was a lot of fun. She smiled at the thought and sat on one of the empty benches.

"Hello, miss."

Pruu looked up excitedly, expecting Ikuto, but it wasn't him. It was some brunette boy with brown eyes. Not Ikuto at all. "Hello." There wasn't a need to be rude, though.

"What's a cute girl like you sitting on a park bench all by herself? You should be on the arm of a gentleman, being treated like the lovely lady you are."

Pruu laughed nervously. She knew he wasn't a threat since they were in a public place, but his pickup lines weren't the best she'd ever heard. "Well, actually, I'm waiting for someone. Sorry."

He smiled nonetheless. "That's all well and good. Maybe I can get your number so maybe some other time I can take you somewhere nice? Hm?" He smiled at her charmingly.

"I don't think her boyfriend would like that," came another voice.

Pruu immediately perked up. "Ikuto-kun." She was so happy to see him. She wanted to just jump up and hug him, but not only was that not in her character, but this other guy was in the way.

Ikuto smirked at the guy. "Excuse me, but I think I'll be taking her somewhere nice. She'll be on no other arm but mine, thanks." He reached over towards the little koi girl and pulled her towards him. "C'mon, Pruu-chan. Let's go." He started pulling her along with her following like a little puppy.

"Hi, Ikuto-kun," she greeted with a smile.

"Really, Pruu, such a klutz," he mused. "Getting into all sorts of trouble. And attracting other people, how rude." He was just teasing her and one of his hands held hers and the other was in his pocket.

Pruu blushed lightly. "Sorry." But, he hadn't said anything about how she looked. Did he notice yet? She didn't want to pester him about it.

She was then distracted by the little miniature of Ikuto. Yoru smiled at her happily. "Pruu-chan, nyah!" He cuddled against her cheek. "You look so cute today!"

Ikuto looked back at the comment and then looked forward again.

Why didn't he say anything? She thought. Was it not cute enough? Did he think it was overdone? She didn't know where she went wrong. Suddenly, she noticed Ikuto was taking her away from the park. And the street they were going along has a lot less people that the main street. "Ikuto-kun, where are we going?"

"A more secluded park," was his answer.

"But why?" She couldn't understand, and looking at Airi gave no answer either because the little black haired Chara just shrugged.

"I don't want anyone seeing you," he said. Finally he looked back at her. "Why would you dress like that, knowing you were going outside? It's almost like you want someone to hit on you or something."

What could he mean by that? "Ikuto, are you saying you're jealous?"

He scoffed and smirked at her. "Jealous of what? No one can beat me." He moved closer to her, sticking his tongue out teasingly. "You're my cute girlfriend, aren't you?"

Pruu blushed and avoided his expression. "Ikuto, you're so mean." He always made her blush. Couldn't she ever make him make a face like hers?

He kept smirking before he made her look up at him. "Of course I am. But only a bad boy like me can keep a girl like you. You're secretly a bad girl."

"Am not!" she interjected. She was a good girl!

Ikuto smirked more. ""Whatever you say." He kissed her lips, tasting her briefly before he pulled away. He grabbed her hand again and they started walking again. He liked seeing her blush. It let him know that she still only had eyes for him. No one could do to her what he could. The only problem was the people that stared at her. He wished she had only dressed in something like that for him, not to go out. He sighed inwardly. It couldn't be helped. Even if she just wore jeans and a tshirt, she'd look incredibly cute. He wouldn't win at all. He would just have to make sure everyone knew that she was his. And he wouldn't let anyone have her. Her smirked at that.

Pruu blushed and looked at her feet, still holding his hand. Why did he always try to make her blush? She made a sound of surprise when she bumped into Ikuto's back. "What's wrong?" She looked up at him.

"What have I told you about looking at your feet when you walk? You bump into things." He stuck his tongue out teasingly.

Pruu rubbed her forehead, careful not to mess up her hair. "I was only just thinking. I just have a habit of looking down when I think." It wasn't like she meant to walk with her head down. "Be nice, Ikuto."

He just kept his signature smile on his face. "But I am nice. I'm going to take you to somewhere you'd like."

Somewhere she liked? Pruu liked that idea. The least she could do was do what he asked her to do. "Okay, I won't put my head down. Can we go please?" The thought of being somewhere she liked with Ikuto was really exciting and she didn't want to waste time just standing on the street.

Ikuto chuckled at her, tugging her hand gently. "Let's go then. C'mon, Yoru."

Yoru gave a large grin and nodded. "Alright! Let's go, Pruu-chan, nyah!" He floated ahead, making Pruu laugh a little bit.

"Let's go, Airi-chan," she called to her chara, who smiled and followed. Pruu then looked to Ikuto. "Charas are supposed to be our would-be-selves, right?" She was trying to get the whole thing clarified.

"Yeah. Everyone has one. Sometimes they come out, sometimes they don't. Why?"

"Well, I was just thinking… Airi is my would-be-self. Brave and bold, and even a lot more honest. So, does that mean Yoru's happy-go-lucky, fun-loving nature is your would-be-self, Ikuto-kun?"

Ikuto paused to think for a moment, then shook his head. "Not really. That's just Yoru." He didn't really continue his explanation.

"Oh…. But what happens when we find our would-be-selves and become the person we want to be?"

"They disappear, I suppose."

Disappear? Pruu looked over to Airi with a worried look. She didn't want her to disappear! She turned back to Ikuto. "But what if we never become our would-be selves?" Would they stay?

Ikuto shook his head again. "They either turn into X eggs or they disappear. That's what happens to adults who never became what they wanted. Charas are made from our innermost dream in a way. When you reach a certain point where you can't reach it, you don't have that dream. Sometimes people just give up on them. Then it's either and X egg or they disappear."

Pruu looked over to Airi and Yoru, who were floating around and laughing, Having fun. Someday, they both would have to disappear someday? Why in the world was that even fair? Bringing someone into your life and then ripping them away? It just wasn't fair. "Ikuto… What's an X egg?" Airi had mentioned it before, but she never had the time to ask about them.

Ikuto sighed. The sunny mood was starting to go away from the air. He was starting to think explaining any of it was a mistake. But, her finding out from someone else wouldn't be any better. At least he could be gentle with it. "X eggs are usually when someone gives up on their would-be-self of has it taken away from them. An example would be someone loves painting and wants to become famous in art. They have the makings of a chara right there. But say a parent prohibits it or someone jabs the art and makes a fool of that person's artwork. That negative feelings they get gather into the egg. If enough gets into the egg, it becomes an X egg. That's when they give up on the dream all together. That's pretty much it though. Sometimes you can bring it back, but most times you can't." He had no other way of explaining it.

Pruu kept frowning. She didn't like that idea at all. She supposed that all the X eggs just disappeared, or went to where the chara eggs come from. She tightened her grip on Ikuto's hand a bit. "Thank you for telling me." She could tell he didn't want to tell her, but she was glad he did. She would rather have known than have it come to her blindly. She couldn't let Airi disappear disappointed or become an X egg. That would be the most horrible thing in the world.

Ikuto tugged her hand a little. "Come on. We're almost there." He didn't know how to cheer her up. He wasn't good with people. He didn't know how to make her smile and it bugged him. He knew how to make her blush and how to make her cry. That wasn't good at all. He wanted to be able to make her laugh and smile like Yoru could. What bugged him most was that he cared so much to want to make her laugh and smile. But, just walking out and making her sad would just make him more irritated. He just didn't know what to do with the girl that was holding onto his hand. He hoped taking her to the park would cheer her up a bit.

Pruu managed a small smile his way. She walked a bit faster to match his pace and hugged his arm, her other hand still intertwined with his. She rested her head against his arm for a moment and inhaled deeply. She felt relaxed around him. She really didn't want to talk though.

Ikuto could only squeeze her hand as a response. He pointed over to a small park. "It's right here." He smirked teasingly at her. "Is it out of your character to play on the swings like a little kid?"

Pruu blushed a little. It was. He saw right through her.

But, a little music note appeared on her cheek when Airi gave a small smirk in the background and Pruu looked at Ikuto with a large smile. "I'd love to!" She paused and her face froze whilst her pale cheeks became a rosy red all around. Airi was always making her embarrass herself!

Ikuto just chuckled again. "Then let's go. I'll give you a push." He pulled her over to the swing set and let her sit down. He started giving her light pushes so she would start to swing. He didn't want her going to high and freaking out. The mental image of her falling off was already just too much for him. Yoru sat on his shoulder and smiled his usual catty smile.

Pruu smiled at Ikuto as he pushed her, then looked over towards a construction site. When the swing returned her to Ikuto, she looked over towards him. "That's going to be the new building where my father is going to work, did you know?"

He just shook his head and looked over towards the site. His face turned up in confusion. That was supposed to be one of the new Easter buildings. Maybe she was mistaken? "You sure? Who does he work for?" Maybe he was working the construction there on the building.

Pruu smiled. Her dad pointed the building out to her once before when he was taking her to the doctor. "Yeah. He works for the Easter Corporation. It's that company that does pretty much anything, you know."

Ikuto almost didn't give her another push, but his cat-like reflexes corrected him before she collided with him. He didn't know her dad worked for Easter. Was he one of the people involved with the Embryo research? No, that would be impossible. Pruu wouldn't have been able to have a chara as long as she had. He couldn't alarm her though. "Really? I didn't know that. Must be boring working for a corporation."

Pruu shrugged. "I'm not sure. Daddy doesn't bring his work home with him. My mom works there too. She's a Sales Representative in the company. I think it's pretty cool." She smiled. Her parents were always so good to her. She looked back at Ikuto. He never brought up his parents. Would it be a bad idea to ask? She looked over to Airi. "Would it be a bad idea to ask him about his parents?" she whispered.

Airi shrugged. "Maybe. Wait until he brings it up." Her creator and Ikuto had just made up. It would be a horrible idea to risk putting a rift between them so soon.

Ikuto tried to seem nonchalant. "I still say it sounds boring." He hated working for Easter. But, he had no choice. He was distracted from his thoughts though when Yoru tugged at his collar insistently. "What is it, Yoru?"

"I can sense other charas!" he said quietly. "It's the Kiddy King and his Guardian dork friends, nyah!"

Ikuto sighed with irritation. Now of all times? He had no idea they passed through this park. Where the hell were they going? He looked over towards Pruu and stopped the swing carefully. He didn't have time to fight with Tadase right now.

"Ikuto?"

Ikuto smirked. "How about we go somewhere else?"

"Let's get ice cream, nyah!" Yoru suggested enthusiastically.

"Ice cream?" Ikuto didn't look like the person to like sweet things. What was going on? "Um, okay?" There wasn't a reason as to not trust him.

Ikuto helped her slow on the swing and she got off, grabbing his hand once again and walking alongside him. "Is everything alright, Ikuto?" she asked curiously. They had just gotten to the park and he wanted to leave already? That didn't make any sense at all.

He looked over at her with his normal calm face. "Everything's fine. Don't worry. You'll get wrinkles all over your face."

Wrinkles? That was what he responds with? "You're so mean," she said with a pout, continuing after him still.

At her comment, he chuckled again. He seemed to be doing that a lot recently. "I'm mean, huh?" He leaned closer to her, inches away from her face. "Tell me what a mean person would do."

Completely flustered by the closeness, Pruu turned her head away. "I dunno," she muttered quietly.

"Can't hear you," he teased.

"I don't know," she replied, louder this time.

With another smirk, he turned her head with one finger and kissed her. It wasn't one of his normal kisses. It was one of the rare one where instead of her nearly dying of embarrassment because of the boy tasting her lips, he just had his lips pressed to hers. Not a peck- it was too long to be considered that. Their lips fit like two puzzle pieces. A chaste kiss that made goosebumps rise on her skin and her eyes flutter closed. But she was only able to enjoy it for a moment, because once she reacted, he pulled away.

"Is that what a mean person would do?" he asked.

Sheepishly, she shook her head 'no'. This boy was dangerous. But without him was even more deadly. She was liking him more than she had ever liked a boy ever.

"No, let's go." He gently tugged at her hand and she followed.

When Airi floated alongside her with a jeer, Pruu flushed more. "No judging," she repeated quietly.

"Pruu and Ikuto, sitting in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-" She was interrupted when Ikuto grabbed her by her tiny collar.

"Such a mischievous little chara, aren't you?"

Suddenly becoming shy herself, Airi retreated into her egg, which Ikuto easily grabbed a hold of.

"Ikuto, give Airi back," Pruu said with a small laugh. Looks like her and her chara were alike after all.

With a smirk, the indigo haired boy held the egg high over her head, cat ears appearing on his head with a 'pop'. He felt like teasing her some more. It was amusing for him. "No, I don't think I will."

"Ikuto!" She tried hopping up to grab the egg, but was too short. "No fair." This was pretty fun for her. He was such a tease.

Letting go of her hand, he took a step back. "Who said I was fair?" He could be very unfair at times. He had forgotten why he even wanted to leave. He was enjoying teasing her right where they were. She was easy to tease.

"Ikuto!" Someone yelled, catching the attention of both the teens.

"Dammit," he muttered under his breath. That was why.

Just as Yoru had warned before, there was Tadase and his group of Guardians, come to ruin his fun.

Tadase was already in his character change form, the crown and cape adorning his small face and a staff in his hand. He pointed the staff at the neko boy threateningly. "At it again? I'll teach you this time, cat!"

Pruu was at a loss. She had no idea what was going on. Why was a grade schooler threatening her boyfriend? Why did he look so funny? What was going on? She looked at the boy nervously, then back to Ikuto. His irritated expression didn't give her any good news.

"Stand down, Kiddie King. This is no place for brats like you. This is my business."

The blonde boy glared angrily and then ran to attack Ikuto. "I'll stop you for sure!"

Ikuto kept his irate expression as he jumped back and dodged the attacks. This was starting to get annoying. "Don't you have a playground to be at?"

The other children that were with Tadase quickly joined Pruu's side.

"Don't worry," said one with long dark hair. "We'll get your egg back."

Pruu looked at them like they were insane. "What are you talking about?" She worridly looked to Ikuto. He wouldn't harm her egg, they were just playing around. "He's not going to hurt Airi!" Why would a kid suddenly attack her boyfriend? Why were they all in weird outfits? One had a kimono, another looked like a cheerleader. What was wrong with those kids? Confused, she watched the fight continue- with Ikuto ducking and dodging, and the little boy furiously trying to strike a hit.

At one point, the boy threw his staff at Ikuto. And that was it.

Worried about Ikuto's safety and that of her dear chara, Pruu rushed to try and help her boyfriend.

Thankfully, Ikuto had been quick enough for the staff to miss him, but it had struck his wrist instead, knocking the decorated egg from his hand.

Time seemed to move slowly for all parties involved as the egg fell towards the ground. All watched wide eyed as it plummeted down towards an absolute doom.

However, with a 'pop' and a flash, everything changed.

The egg had thankfully not smashed onto the ground. During the fall, the frightened and jumbled Airi had released herself from her shell and initiated an immediate Character Change. Pruu was indeed in for a surprise.

When the egg had not made contact with the ground and was out of her sight, Pruu looked around only to be even more surprised to hear the chara's voice inside of her head.

'A Character Change! We did it, Pruu-chan! We became one! We're Mechanical Diva!'

'Mechanical Diva…?' she asked quietly.

'That's one of the things you do with a chara! Like when I have you do little things that are in your character! We're like a super hero now!' She giggled excitedly.

Indeed she had changed. Her cute outfit had changed into a little black dress with a cream colored corset top and lightly poofed out black sleeves. A microphone was connected to her ear and curled around to her mouth- like the ones that singers used, she thought. The back of the dress was pulled together with a medium sized bow and bows tied to her wrists as well.

What in the world was happening to her? This was all too strange for her. Nevertheless, her attention suddenly fixated on Ikuto, who was just looking at her in shock.

Quickly, she hurried over to her boyfriend and stood in front of him, between him and the blonde boy. "You leave Ikuto alone!" She didn't know how or even if she could, but she would try and defend him the best as she could if she had to.

"Whatever, he's told you is a lie!" the boy responded. "Don't let him take your egg or get the Embryo! He works for the Easter Corporation!"

"Yeah!" agreed the pink haired girl suddenly. "He's evil!"

What" Easter? An evil corporation? What was wrong with these kids? "He's not evil! He's my boyfriend!"

A moment of silence passed in the park, and Pruu's stern face was starting to flush as time passed. She had said that so loud….

"WHAT?" the pink haired girl yelled out. "How can that perverted cat be your boyfriend?"

At that question, the blunette paused herself. Ikuto wasn't a pervert. He had never acted perverted towards her. Questioningly, she turned her attention to Ikuto.

Ikuto looked a little uncomfortable. He had a LOT of explaining to do to his girlfriend. A LOT. "It's not what she's making it out to be. I'm not interested in a little kid like her." Curiosity wasn't what killed the cat. It was the stupid decisions it made in life. Like not leaving the park immediately. Like teasing Amu.

Pruu looked to the pink haired girl. "Who are you?"

She took a defensive stance. "Hinamori Amu!"

Amu? This was Amu? This was the girl Utau had said Ikuto had chosen over her? This little grade schooler? She looked to Ikuto. "Ikuto-kun, you like grade school girls better?" She felt like she was going to cry.

"It's not like that. I didn't even do anything to her. I just teased her a bit and she overreacted. It's not like I like her or anything." This was not going to be a good day for him.

Not wanting to look at him with her upset expression, she looked back over to the kids. "You leave Ikuto alone! He's not evil!" He was nice and sweet and caring. Nowhere near evil at all.

Suddnely, startling everyone in the group, Ikuto had grabbed a small pellet from his pocket and thrown it to the ground, having it explode in a cloud of a smoke. Swiftly, he grabbed Pruu's hand and dragged her away from the park. They both hurried away from the coughing and confused children until Ikuto decided that they were far enough. They stopped around the corner of a convenient store in a small alley, where no one would question thier odd appearances. "Are you alright?" He hadn't wanted to make her run but he had no choice.

"What was that thing you threw?" Was he suddenly a ninja or something?

"I'll explain later. Come one, I'll take you home." With a subtle 'pop,' his ears disappeared and Yoru peered sheepishly over his shoulder.

"No! You'll explain to me now! Why was that kid fighting with you? Why did those kids say you were evil? And what are they talking about when they say Easter is evil?" She wasn't budging until he talked.

After a sigh, Ikuto leaned against the wall. "Here? Can't I just get you home and explain?"

"No."

With another aggravated sigh, he let go of her hand. "Tadase and I have history. I don't like talking about it. And Easter has a secret division that's experimenting and researching about charas and character eggs, okay? I work with them so that's everything. Now can I take you home?" He figured the whole truth would just complicate everything. Explaining the Embryo and how Easter was collecting 'X' eggs to try and achieve it. She was already mad at him. All of his attempts to cheer her up and make up with her had now gone down the toilet.

With a less subtle 'poof' of her own, the Character Change had come undone and Pruu looked normal again. She looked to her side to see Airi floating alongside her, beaming with excitement. Her attention returned to Ikuto. "You're keeping things from me? Are my parents working with this division? What in the world would make them evil? I don't understand, Ikuto." She was feeling less angry and more confused. Her parents weren't doing anything bad, were they? She couldn't imagine her parents being a part of anything bad. She just couldn't.

With a sympathetic exhale, Ikuto reached over and pulled the smaller girl to his chest. "I'll explain it all soon, okay? Not now. Just calm down and let me take you home." The last thing he needed was for her to get sick again. She wasn't at school already that day so she probably needed a lot more rest. "I've never met your parents other than at the hospital and they obviously never met me before so I'm sure they don't work in the same division. They probably don't know about charas so calm down."

Thinking with the logic he put in front of her, she nodded her head. It must be a small division if he knew who was in it. She figured she would save her questions for a different day. She didn't want to fight with him. "Promise you'll tell me?"

Ikuto chuckled half heartedly. He never made promises. "Sure."

After a moment of silence, Pruu thought a bit more. "Did you see me? That was crazy. I didn't know that happened with charas. So is the cat ears the only one you can do?"

He nearly snickered, grateful for the subject change. "Yeah, you were something. Would have been something else to see you actually use an attack or something." He couldn't imagine her fighting though. She would probably cry if she had to fight someone. "And no, I can do a full change like you. I just don't do it. I don't really feel the need to when I fight Tadase. He's not going to beat me." His voice was quiet, no cockiness or anything. Just quiet as he stayed where he was.

"Oh, I see…" She stayed quiet for a few more moments. "Ikuto?"

"Yeah?"

"Can I go home?"

"Yeah." He let her go and grabbed a hold of her hand. "You tired yet?"

"A bit. And I don't want to be out too late." She kind of wished that things would go to the same comfort level it was before Ikuto got into a fight. She still felt comfortable holding his hand and talking to him, but there wasn't a joking sense to the air. A kind of awkward feeling to everything. Would it be like this from now on?

Thankfully, they were not far from her house and reached it in no time. Looking at her driveway, she noticed her parents were still not home. Probably still at work. It would be an hour or two before they got off work.

After unlocking the door, Pruu walked in and turned back to Ikuto. "You coming in?"

"Are you inviting me?" he asked with a slight smirk.

"If you'll come in, then yes." She didn't want to be alone. She liked Ikuto's company. Liked being around him- even though their day had been less than perfect, she still wanted to be around him.

With a chuckled, Ikuto walked into the house and closed the door. "Do you want to take a nap on the couch?"

She shook her head. "We can go up to my room if you want? I can make tea or something?"

"It's okay. You don't need to." He smirked a bit more, feeling a bit playful again. "Inviting a boy into your room. A bit bold isn't it?"

Her pale cheeks flushed a bright red. "I have no ill intentions and you know that." She walked up to her room, being followed by two charas and an indigo haired boy.

The instant that they entered the room, Airi went over Pruu's desk and laid herself down, content that she had been able to transform with her creator. For her, it was the best day yet- even if it had been a little bumpy.

Following suit, Pruu laid herself on her bed, exhausted. Too much information and events. Too little daytime. She smiled a it though when Ikuto laid down next to her, their faces almost touching.

"When do you want me to leave?" he asked. He didn't want to stay when he wasn't wanted.

"When you want," was her soft reply. She wanted to take a quick nap, then she would be up and ready and maybe see if Ikuto could stay for dinner.

He chuckled and after a moment of fumbling, had pulled her dark blue blankets over the both of them. "Comfy?" he asked rhetorically.

She didn't answer him though. She was too tired to utter a response. Her hands subconsciously searched for his and held on lightly when he grabbed hers with a small smirk. She was an odd one.

Beneath the warmth of the blankets and the silence of the house, he was surprised when he himself was feeling tired. He would just rest his eyes for a few minutes, then he would get up and go back before Pruu woke up. That was what was going to happen.

Well, that was what he had planned. He hadn't expecting his "eye resting" to end up with himself actually falling asleep under the blankets with her. He guessed he was pretty odd too.

Bunnii: I know it's been a while. This wasn't my best chapter but tell me what you think. I'm just getting some stuff out of the way. The introduction of the Guardians, the establishing of further information about Easter, ect. Well, I'll make a better one soon. I really wanted to get a new chapter out. It's been too long. Well, it's almost 2am here and I need to make Pokemon cupcakes for Christmas. Have a good holiday, my lovies! Please review as it's been a while. Don't forget to read and review on my ANIMA Lover as well. Much love!


	9. Daddy's Bad Temper

He walked over towards her balcony, climbing over the railing.

Pruu bit her lip and walked over to the balcony. "Should you be climbing down like that? It's dangerous and you might get hurt. It's high up, isn't it? Ikuto-kun, maybe we can find a different way. What if you fall?" Oh, if he fell, she would never forgive herself. He was coming from her house after all. She held onto the railing carefully, leaning over while he climbed down effortlessly.

Ikuto rolled his eyes and lifted himself up a bit, cutting off the girl's ranting worries with his lips. He pulled away and smirked at her. "Calm down. Cat, remember? I'll be down in a minute. Go downstairs and tell your parents I'm close." He let himself climb down some more. "And don't ask them about Easter. I'll talk to you about it later." He was sure they weren't involved with the Embryo research so just bringing it up might cause a bit of a commotion. That did not need to happen. And the last thing he wanted was getting Pruu involved in the whole fight for the Embryo. She wasn't the type to fight. Just the thought of it made him grimace.


End file.
